Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR210023S
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a couple
00:02 who's determined to spread the gospel in unique ways. 00:05 My name is Jason Bradley. 00:06 And you're watching Urban Report. 00:31 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:33 My guests today are Dr. Roland J. Hill, 00:37 President of UPMI and his wonderful wife, 00:40 Dr. Susie Hill. 00:41 And she is the Vice President of UPMI. 00:44 Welcome to Urban Report. 00:46 Well, we're excited about being here, Jason. 00:48 Thank you for having us. You're very welcome. 00:51 I'm excited to have you here on so many different levels. 00:54 Oh, wow. 00:56 You've been on foundation of our faith. 00:57 That's correct. 00:58 You've been preaching some serious powerful sermons. 01:01 And I also attended your entrepreneur camp when I was, 01:06 what, 14 or 15 years? 01:08 Yeah, 14. 01:10 You were just a little guy. Yes. Yes. 01:12 Buy you're a grown man now. 01:13 Thank you. I appreciate that. 01:15 I appreciate that. 01:16 That's taking it way, way back. 01:20 We actually have some pictures when I was at the camp. 01:23 I'd like to start just putting those up 01:24 and we'll just go through those pictures there. 01:27 Wow. Yeah, that is old. 01:30 I'm there in the back row I see. 01:32 Yeah, we went to the bank there because we were 01:34 teaching you about being responsible financially. 01:37 I love it. 01:38 And then we're showing us these are the students 01:40 that attended when you were there. 01:42 Nice. 01:44 I remember I used to get a ride home. 01:46 That was Aaron down there towards the bottom. 01:49 He used to give me a ride home. 01:51 That was in Dallas. Yes. 01:52 You guys... You were a great group of kids to work with. 01:55 We were excited about watching the growth during that camp. 01:59 Amen. I was excited to be there. 02:01 You guys were excellent instructors 02:03 and you were passionate about what you were teaching 02:05 because you wanted to really empower the youth. 02:08 What led to you starting that camp? 02:10 Well, actually, the first one was done in 1999. 02:15 I actually thought about what our youth were doing. 02:18 And we teach entrepreneurship to adults, 02:20 but we did not do it for our young people. 02:23 So we started the first one, and we ran it at the Martin 02:26 Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Dallas. 02:29 Wow. 02:30 And we had six students, were our first one. 02:32 It was like our pilot program. Yes. 02:34 We met five weeks. 02:37 Five weeks. Five days. 02:38 Yeah, five weeks. Wow. 02:40 Five days a week and we were with them six hours a day. 02:44 Every single day, we took youth 02:46 because we saw that they needed an alternate route in life. 02:49 Yes. 02:50 So we took the time to help them identify their gifts 02:53 and their talents and showed them how to identify 02:55 a need in the community. 02:57 And they actually wrote a business plan. 02:59 You wrote a business plan too? I did. 03:01 And then some of those students started their businesses 03:04 as soon as they graduated from the camp. 03:08 They had to present their business plan. 03:10 You remember presenting yours? Mm-hmm. 03:12 You had to present your business plan 03:13 and then go ahead and start it. 03:15 So it gave them an opportunity to think in terms of, besides, 03:19 if you didn't go to college or if you did go to college, 03:22 you have something else that you can fall back on 03:24 and still make it. 03:25 We were really dealing with at-risk youth 03:28 right in the Dallas area. 03:30 In fact, one of the guys that came to the camp, 03:32 he was actually put out of his home. 03:34 Wow. 03:35 And he was sleeping with friends 03:37 while he was in the camp. 03:39 Wow. 03:40 So we've been committed to at-risk youth. 03:42 That's why we started the camp. 03:44 And these are young kids. These are young kids. 03:46 So ages... The youngest age is 11 and all the way to 20. 03:50 And so we have run several camps in the summer. 03:54 We've run some afterschool, an afterschool programs 03:57 and all across the country. 03:59 And it's really made a big difference in the lives 04:01 of a lot of our youth. 04:02 They remember it, they always come back years later 04:04 and they say, "I remember 04:06 what you taught me in that camp." 04:08 Absolutely, I say that too. 04:11 To be honest, a number of the young people have come 04:13 back and said, "Listen, please keep the camps going." 04:17 Yes. Because it made such a difference in their life. 04:19 Now there's one guy in particular 04:21 that was on the streets. 04:22 Actually, his parents put him out. 04:24 If it had not been for the program, 04:26 he'd probably be in prison right now. 04:28 Wow. But he took the concepts. 04:30 He started his own little business 04:32 finishing up high school. 04:34 And what was it called? 04:35 Let me tell you what he did. 04:37 It was pretty ingenious. 04:38 He decided that he would rent an extra locker at school 04:43 and bought supplies, paper, pencils, and candy. 04:47 And he would sell them in between classes. 04:50 He paid $9 to get an extra locker at school 04:53 and he called it jigger locker treats. 04:57 That's truly urban. 04:58 Yeah, truly urban. 05:00 And he made enough money to buy his own clothes. 05:02 He made enough money to even have a cell phone. 05:05 And he was doing well. 05:07 His mom saw that he was changing his life around 05:10 and she let him come back home because he made 05:12 a commitment to do the right thing. 05:14 You know what's interesting, 05:15 that shows that he was scaling his business too. 05:17 That is right. 05:18 So, you know, because he wasn't just taking 05:20 the profits and just spending it frivolously. 05:23 He was investing, reinvesting into his business. 05:26 So he learned some valuable lessons. Right. 05:28 I have a friend that was there and he started a restaurant. 05:31 He went off to start a restaurant in Dallas. 05:34 So from... And he was at the camp. 05:36 So it's producing results. 05:38 In the summer you were there, there was a young lady. 05:41 She came with her hands folded, and she was mad. 05:44 And she started walking there. 05:46 She's in the pictures. 05:47 And she said, "I'm here." 05:50 And she said, 05:51 "He's the one that's going to be talking to you 05:53 about registering me." 05:54 It was her dad. Oh, wow. She was so angry. 05:57 But do you know, by the time we finished the camp, 06:00 she had written her business plan to run her own barbershop. 06:05 The news media came and did a report on her. 06:09 She was braiding hair. 06:11 She made more money than her parents were making 06:14 monthly braiding hair. 06:16 She had 22 customers. 06:17 And at the end of the day, 06:19 she went and got her barber's license 06:20 and started earning money when she left our camp. 06:23 Wow. That is huge. 06:25 That is huge. 06:26 Empowering the community. 06:28 I want to transition into UPMI. 06:31 First off, what does UPMI stand for? 06:34 United Prison Ministries International. 06:37 And we've been around for 41 years. Yes. 06:41 And it's been exciting to move into leadership 06:44 because our founders, Richard and Carolyn Bland 06:47 laid a solid foundation. 06:49 Now they're in the 80s and 90s 06:51 and so it was time for a transition to be made. 06:55 And the Lord worked at where we were asked to lead 06:59 the organization. 07:00 Yes. 07:01 And so as the new leaders of UPMI, 07:04 what's the direction that you see it taking? 07:06 Where do you want this to go? 07:09 Well, I'm glad you asked that. 07:10 You see it in the Youth Entrepreneur Business Camp. 07:13 One of the things we want to do is we want to work 07:15 with at-risk youth. 07:17 We also want to make sure that prisoners 07:19 get an opportunity to be self-reliant. 07:23 You know, what we've discovered is that you can 07:25 teach them about Jesus, 07:27 but you got to take it further than that. 07:29 So part of what we see in the future 07:32 is to add what we've been doing in the past, 07:34 and that is giving good, solid Christian-based material. 07:39 And adding to that Christian-based material, 07:42 teaching them how to be self-reliant. 07:44 Yes. 07:45 And so what are some of the tips? 07:47 For example, like you're talking about 07:49 teaching them how to be self-reliant. 07:50 So what are some of the tools or the strategies 07:53 or the tips that you're providing them with to help 07:56 them get to that point? 07:58 Well, actually, what we've done 08:00 is we've designed what we call the 330K 08:04 project or program. 08:07 And that's designed to train 08:10 and equip about 330,000 ex-offenders 08:14 and prisoners over the next five years. 08:16 Wow. You heard me correct. 08:17 We have high goals, a high vision, 330,000 prisoners 08:23 and ex offenders over the next five years 08:27 with the purpose of teaching them how to be self-reliant. 08:30 Now I heard your question. 08:32 Your question was, how do you do that? 08:34 Well, the first thing you have to do 08:35 is you have to teach them self worth. 08:40 And you do that by helping them develop their own 08:42 life's skills. 08:44 Yes. And then we teach them financial literacy. 08:47 And then we share with them how to start 08:50 and run and operate a business. 08:52 Now we don't go into the details of it. 08:54 We give them the basics 08:55 of what it takes to have a business mind 08:59 and then run the business when they get out. 09:01 What's nice about it is that we've used 09:03 these materials to people who are not incarcerated 09:05 and we've seen the results that it's had in their lives. 09:09 So we have repurposed this information 09:11 for the incarcerated individuals 09:14 who are thinking in terms 09:15 of how they're going to survive 09:16 and how they're going to make it. 09:18 And these skills have worked just like the same skills 09:20 we taught in the Youth Entrepreneur Business Camp. 09:23 We're simply just transferring it 09:25 over to the incarcerated individuals. 09:27 And it's really... We're excited. 09:29 We can't wait. 09:30 The reason why we're excited, 09:32 because there are 2.2 million 09:36 of our brothers and sisters behind jail, behind bars, 09:39 in jail, incarcerated. 09:41 of them get out of jail. 09:45 Wow. That's a large number. 09:47 That is. 09:49 But now the problem is within three to five years, 76% 09:54 of them are back in jail again. 09:56 Wow. 09:57 So what we said at UPMI, 09:59 we've given them a Christian foundation. 10:02 But now what we want to do is say, "Hey, 10:05 you don't have to go back. 10:07 The Christian material that we're providing you now 10:09 is saying, "Not only can you be 'saved,' 10:13 but you can be self-reliant.'" 10:14 Why? Because now you know you are the job. 10:18 You can create your own business. 10:20 So you're seeking to help reduce 10:23 the recidivism rate by providing them with 10:25 practical tools for living in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 10:29 That's what we do with Dare to Dream too. 10:30 That's correct. Right, right, this is exciting. 10:33 Right, right, right. I love this. 10:34 No, we understand that if you don't change 10:37 a prisoner's philosophy of life, he will never change. 10:41 And so what we call this the PREP program, 10:46 it's the Prison Economic Reform Educational Program. 10:52 And it's designed to train them to think 10:55 differently about life. 10:57 Yes. We want to make sure that they... 10:59 I like... 11:00 I don't know if I told you this, dear. 11:02 We need to rescue them with SOS. 11:07 Now break that down? 11:09 He's always coming up with something good. 11:11 Yes, yes. 11:12 The S is we need to make sure that they're saved. 11:15 Okay. Yes. 11:16 The O is we need to make sure that they're optimistic, 11:20 because your view on life determines your outcome. 11:23 And then last, we want to make sure that they're self-reliant. 11:26 And so that's what we're launching out 11:29 with the new phase of UPMI. 11:31 UPMI has done an extremely great work through the years. 11:35 When you think about it, we're in over 3000 prisons. 11:38 Yes, and we have actually distributed 76 million pieces 11:44 of Christian literature. 11:45 Wow. I think you need to say it again. 11:47 76 million. 76 million? 11:50 That's the last count but we're still... 11:52 That was the last count, but we're still continuing. 11:54 Over the last 41 years, 11:56 we have distributed over 76 million pieces 12:00 of Christian literature to prisoners for free. 12:03 For free. 12:04 And it is amazing because we are in every state. 12:08 We're in over 3000 prisons and in 72 countries of the world. 12:14 Wow. 12:15 So our material goes everywhere. 12:16 That's huge. 12:18 Now I'm sure that it's free to them, but it's not free to you. 12:20 Oh, no. No, no, no. 12:22 It's not free to us. 12:23 There probably a little fee there. 12:24 It cost us to purchase the material and to send it out. 12:28 Yes. We also pay for printing. 12:30 We have to print the material. 12:32 So we do the printing, we do the packaging, 12:34 and we do the shipping. 12:36 And, of course, you know, we run a pretty large operation. 12:39 You know, we own 66 acres. 12:41 Okay. 12:42 And we have about 21 people in the staff. 12:44 And so when you're talking about running an operation, 12:46 you can't get this volume of material out to prisoners 12:50 without having a staff. 12:52 And so, yeah, we do it for free, 12:53 but it does cost us heavily. 12:55 And that's why we depend 12:56 so heavily on donors to help us to do this God work, 13:00 because this is what Jesus told us to do. 13:02 Yes. 13:04 He said, "When I come back again, I'm going to ask, 13:05 'Have you visited me in prison?'" 13:08 And that got me excited because that's Jesus in prison. 13:13 Yes. 13:14 So I want to make sure that we visit Jesus 13:16 with our brothers and sisters in prison. 13:19 Yes, yes. 13:21 What gave you, where did your conviction, 13:24 where did your passion for the incarcerated population, 13:27 where did that come into play? 13:29 Like, what caused that? 13:30 Well, can I say this? It was actually... 13:33 It was years ago when we were in Texas at the time. 13:39 You were invited to go to the prison. 13:41 And my husband said... He was a pastor now. 13:44 You were teaching at that point. 13:45 I was teaching at that point. 13:46 But you'd pastored for at least 16 years before that. 13:49 And prison ministry 13:51 was something that someone else did, 13:54 not something that we actually did. 13:56 So there was a brother in the community... 14:00 You're telling all the detail. 14:02 We didn't do it. It wasn't us. 14:03 So, I mean, I had an interest. 14:05 I'm a pastor. 14:06 I got called to pastor these six. 14:08 All I've ever wanted to be is a pastor. 14:10 So I've always had a heart for people, 14:13 whether they were incarcerated or not. 14:14 I've had a deep burning desire for the souls of men, 14:18 but I never really felt the strong call to go behind bars. 14:22 And this brother would come to me when I was 14:24 professor at Southwestern Adventist University. 14:27 He would come to me and say, "Doc, 14:29 can you come and help us out to the prisons?" 14:30 I said... 14:32 Well, I used all kinds of excuses. 14:34 All kinds of excuses. All kinds of excuses. 14:37 You pulled a Moses. I did. 14:40 And then finally, one day I'm in devotion 14:43 and I was speaking to the Lord and I said, 14:46 "Lord, I want to reach black men." 14:50 And God said, "They're in prison." 14:53 And it shook me. 14:56 And literally, a short time after it, 14:59 the same gentleman called me and said, 15:01 "Doc, would you come and teach this concept 15:05 of theo-economics in the prisons?" 15:08 And of course, I couldn't refuse because God 15:10 has spoken to me. 15:11 Yes. 15:13 And so I taught for six weeks 15:14 a concept that I've written about. 15:16 You know, I've actually written about 22 books. 15:18 I've published 20. 15:19 I love to write. It's a calling of God. 15:21 And that's what we're going to bring to UPMI. 15:24 Okay. 15:25 We're not going to get just everybody else's material. 15:27 We're able to produce our own material that's directed 15:30 directly to our brothers and sisters. 15:33 And so I taught this theo-economics in prison 15:35 and the guys just, they just ate it up, 15:39 because it talked about the economy of God. 15:42 It talked about a different philosophy. 15:44 It told the prisoners that you 15:46 don't have to be locked in what you see. 15:48 You can trust God for what He promises you. 15:51 But now the problem, Jason, is after I finished teaching, 15:55 I got busy doing other things. 15:58 And it was not until... Last year. 16:01 Just before... 16:02 In fact, it was the last Sabbath 16:04 before everything shut down. 16:06 The churches were shut down in the middle of March. 16:08 We went to church that Sabbath. 16:10 They were having prison ministry day. 16:13 Tell the whole story. 16:14 Tell the whole story. 16:16 I said, "Honey, let's go to church." 16:17 She said they announced prison ministry 16:19 and I said, "I'm not going to church this Sabbath." 16:21 I said, "Honey, we've go to church. 16:22 I want to go." I said, "No." 16:24 He said, "We're not going." 16:26 You were trying to escape that conviction. 16:27 That's correct. 16:29 You knew there was a conviction waiting on you. 16:30 Yes. But you know what? 16:32 My husband then said, "We're going to go." 16:34 And when we went, it was amazing 16:37 what God did on that Sabbath. 16:39 The Spirit of the Lord just came over me. 16:41 I literally just moved to tears while the guy was preaching. 16:45 And I mean, God says, 16:46 "Now you made a commitment 25 years 16:48 ago that you ran away from. 16:50 It's time to take it up." 16:52 And to add to the inspiration, the guy, 16:55 this chaplain brought has a testimony about 16:59 what prison ministry is all about. 17:01 It was a guy... 17:02 I was his resident assistant his freshman year Oakwood. 17:06 I hadn't seen him in 40 years 17:08 and he made the confession to me. 17:09 He said, "I've been in prison for 20 years." 17:13 I never knew it. Wow. 17:14 And it was out of that reconnect that the Lord 17:17 started moving on my heart. 17:19 I like the way one of the founders says, 17:21 Carolyn says it, Carolyn Brand. 17:23 I got prison fever. 17:26 I mean, it just got in me 17:28 and we should actually start talking about prison ministry. 17:31 In a television show that I do every week, 17:33 Chapel in the Air, I started talking about it. 17:35 And then God sent me to call UPMI, 17:38 and that's how the connection came. 17:40 Wow. So that's why we're here. 17:42 I love it. I want to rewind now. 17:45 This is going way back. 17:46 You said that you got the calling to be a pastor 17:50 at the age of six. 17:52 Six. 17:53 There are a lot of people that are out there 17:54 that are wondering, you know, what calling does God 17:57 have on my life? 17:58 How did you recognize that calling that God 18:00 placed on your life at that early age? 18:02 Well, you know, I grew up in a preacher's home. 18:03 I'm a son of a preacher. 18:04 Okay, not a son of a gun, but a son of a preacher. 18:06 Gotcha. 18:08 And at a young age, God just softened my heart. 18:13 And one Sabbath when my father was preaching, 18:18 the Spirit of the Lord just came on me at six years old. 18:21 And I just walked down the aisle, man. 18:23 And I gave my heart to Jesus, 18:25 and I heard my call to the ministry. 18:27 And that's all I've ever wanted to do. 18:29 Wow. 18:30 I've never wanted to be a doctor, or fireman, 18:32 lawyer, none of that. 18:33 I just wanted to be a preacher. 18:35 And I've had such a passion for preaching. 18:38 Man, when I was in high... 18:39 When I was in academy in high school, I wore ties to school. 18:44 Wow. That's correct. 18:46 If you talk to any 18:47 of the people that went to school with me, 18:49 they will tell you, "He always acted like a preacher." 18:52 And not only that, when he was growing up, 18:54 he has a sister that's two years younger than him. 18:57 And he talks about this all the time. 18:58 He says he played preacher. 19:02 She would sit on the front row with her dolls, 19:04 and he would preach to his sister and her dolls. 19:07 And then he would practice baptizing her. 19:10 I baptized my sister at least a thousand times. 19:14 Wow. 19:15 She ought to be saved, sanctified, 19:16 and filled with the Holy Ghost. 19:19 So it was in his blood. Yes. 19:22 And by the way, Jason, that's why we're 19:24 so sensitive to young people. 19:25 Yes. And you help at-risk youth? 19:28 That's correct. Let's transition into that. 19:30 Let's talk about how you helped the at-risk youth? 19:32 And that's been... 19:34 That's the reason why we could identify with the need 19:37 of working with children. 19:38 We know when we catch them young, 19:40 we can keep them out of jail. 19:42 Yeah. It really matters. 19:43 In fact, it's an excellent way to keep 19:44 them from going into jail. 19:46 Because they know before they finish 19:48 and graduate from high school, that they have 19:50 something to hold on to. 19:51 That's right. 19:53 Many of them have actually, even the one 19:54 we just ran this summer. 19:56 We ran a Youth Entrepreneur Summer Business Camp. 19:58 And one of the young ladies at the graduation 20:01 when they presented their business plan, she said, 20:04 "I already have a customer. 20:06 Somebody already called me." 20:07 She's going to be helping people make decisions 20:09 about how to organize their home. 20:11 Almost like an interior decorator. 20:13 But she is a high school student who is already, 20:18 and she's already postured herself to do that. 20:20 And she said, "I already have a customer." 20:23 So instead of allowing her to just come out and fit... 20:25 You know, just sit around and not really know 20:27 what she's going to do with her life, 20:29 it's making a difference. 20:30 When they come from single parent homes, 20:32 it really is challenging for a single parent, 20:36 whether it's a mom or a dad trying to raise children 20:39 and keep them on the straight and narrow path. 20:42 Every parent says, "Thank you so much." 20:45 And one of the kids said, this summer, 20:47 "Are we doing this again next summer? 20:49 Please. We want to do it. 20:50 I'm going to do it and I'm going to come back." 20:52 Yeah, they want round two. 20:53 You know what's interesting? 20:55 The community loves this type of program. 20:58 Yes. 20:59 And we were actually blessed to get quite a bit 21:02 of support from businessmen and women in the community. 21:05 I love it. 21:06 And we've done it through the years. 21:07 And when they see we're making the investment in our children, 21:11 many of them understand what prison is. 21:13 They can see the prison pathway. 21:16 If you don't invest in your children now, 21:19 you can expect to pay the bill when they get in jail. 21:24 Because the community still pays. 21:26 Yes, yes, absolutely. 21:28 What kind of challenges have you faced with COVID and, 21:32 you know, UPMI and going into prisons? 21:35 Well, one of the things we found that when COVID hit, 21:39 there were no more in-person chapel meetings. 21:43 They shut that down in all of the prisons. 21:45 So the prisoners had to stay in their cells. 21:48 UPMI stepped up. 21:51 We have received more requests for literature. 21:54 So the pandemic has been a blessing on that front. 21:57 So we're strong. 21:58 We're handing out thousands 22:01 of literature more than we've done before 22:04 as a result of the pandemic. 22:05 So that turned out to be a blessing. 22:07 Wow. 22:08 And what has happened, because the pandemic 22:11 has affected all of the world, 22:13 and so we're getting requests from other countries 22:15 of the world for literature for their prisoners. 22:18 In fact, over the next few months, 22:20 we're going to be sending out close to 200,000 22:23 pieces of material both to Cuba and Mexico. 22:27 Wow, close to 200. 200,000. 22:30 Free. We're donating that free to them. 22:33 So the Bible Answers in English. 22:36 We have picture of that, what that looks like. 22:38 We'll show what the Bible Answers... 22:40 Yeah, we have it in Spanish for them. 22:43 Respuestas Biblicas. 22:45 And we have that going... 22:47 We have 180 pieces 22:49 of literature that's going to Cuba, 22:51 and we have 70,000 pieces 22:53 of literature that's going to Mexico. 22:55 That's huge. 22:57 So you're seeing an increase in the hunger 23:00 or the appetite for Christ. 23:03 That is correct. 23:04 People are wondering what's going on. 23:06 And so you guys are meeting that need with the literature. 23:07 Our motto is, the answer for crime is Christ. 23:11 And we believe in seeing Christ 23:14 indwelling in the people's hearts holistically. 23:18 So we're not just ministering to their souls, 23:20 we're saying, "Listen, we want to teach you 23:22 how to be self-reliant. 23:24 We want to develop you so that you know who you are. 23:28 We see the whole man." Yes. 23:30 So in other words, you're implementing Christ 23:32 method of evangelism? 23:34 Yes. Look at you're right on point so. 23:35 I got you. I'm with you. 23:37 We're mingling with people where they are. 23:39 Yes. 23:40 We see the prisoners in their need. 23:42 There's a lot of talk about what's changing their lives. 23:46 Okay, transformation. 23:48 But if they don't get the right material to feed their brains, 23:51 they will never change. 23:53 And so we're committed, in our new leadership, 23:55 to provide fresh, new, innovative material that will 23:59 transform their thinking. 24:01 And when you transform their thinking, 24:03 you got a new man that can reenter society 24:06 and not just survive, but thrive. 24:09 We really believe God just doesn't want 24:11 prisoners to come out and say, all right, I'll make it. 24:14 No, we want to see them thrive spiritually and financially. 24:19 Let's talk about your needs. 24:20 What are the needs of the organization? 24:23 Because you're sending a lot of stuff out for free. 24:24 So what are your needs? 24:26 Well, one of the things that we are needing 24:28 is we are trying to prepare our community for receiving, 24:34 not just for the prisoners, 24:35 but also for those who reenter society. 24:38 This 330K project, 24:41 we're needing funds to make 24:43 sure that's available for our prisoners. 24:46 And we believe that when they get this, 24:48 because we have a captive audience. 24:50 The prisoner has time. 24:52 And they tell us all the time, "We have a lot of time. 24:54 We love reading material." 24:56 And this is the material that they need to receive. 24:58 So it's wonderful to have this available. 25:00 So we need funds to make that available for the prisoners. 25:05 Okay. And it's... 25:06 And then we also, you know, on our properties in Verbena, 25:10 Alabama, we are developing a retreat center. 25:14 Not just for ex offenders, but for chaplains, for wardens, 25:19 for preachers, because we really 25:21 want to minister to more than just the prison population. 25:26 Actually, but we want to minister to those 25:28 who are having to work with prisoners inside prisons. 25:31 So we need funds to continue to complete our retreat center 25:35 right there in Verbena. 25:37 And if someone wants to get involved, how can they do that? 25:41 They can call our organization. 25:42 And we have... 25:44 On the website, you can see 25:45 we have a staff that will receive you lovingly. 25:48 We have a great staff that you can call. 25:51 And if your church does not have a local prison ministry, 25:56 we are prepared to help any local church to start 25:59 their own prison ministry. 26:00 So they can call us. 26:02 And definitely if they want to make a donation, 26:05 they can do that on our website. 26:07 I want to put all your contact info up real quick. 26:09 We're going to put up the contact page. 26:11 And if you would just read... 26:12 If they want to send you mail, how can they do that? 26:14 They can send the information to United 26:15 Prison Ministries International. 26:18 PO Box 8, 26:19 Verbena, Alabama 36091. 26:24 And the phone number is 26:25 (205) 755-4744. 26:31 You can contact us at our website @upmi.org 26:37 And when you go to our website, there is a donation button. 26:40 And we would want folks to just get excited with it. 26:43 We want everybody to catch prison fever. 26:45 Yes. And support what we're doing. 26:48 But can I say this? Absolutely. 26:50 One of the things that I've found 26:51 as we've talked about prison ministry and I'm so thankful. 26:54 It's a privilege for us to be in this position to really make 26:58 a difference in the lives 27:00 of prisoners and their families. 27:02 We don't know anyone whose life has not been 27:05 touched by prison ministry. 27:08 Yes. 27:09 Everyone, every church has someone that's incarcerated 27:12 or a family member that's incarcerated. 27:15 Everyone knows at least one person who is incarcerated. 27:20 And I say, "Wow, this was far reaching." 27:22 So for us to be in this position, 27:23 we're so grateful. 27:25 So we need your prayers. 27:26 And we ask that God will continue to open 27:28 the doors for us to make a difference. 27:30 Absolutely, absolutely. 27:31 And you're doing such a wonderful work. 27:33 And I love how you put it because, you know, 27:35 the person that gets arrested isn't the only one doing time. 27:39 There are a lot of people that are impacted by those decisions 27:42 and by those consequences. 27:44 So I want to thank you for what you're doing 27:46 and thank you for coming on the program today. 27:48 And I want to thank you for joining us. 27:51 I can't believe our time is up. 27:54 But until next time, may God richly bless you. 27:57 God bless. |
Revised 2021-10-28