Missionary Memories: A Krusade Memory
by Dr. Jay Thatcher, SPM Director of Ministry Relations
Editor’s Note: Dr. Thatcher Accompanied The Women Of The Keystone Krusade, The First-Ever Crusade Conducted By A Lady Saints Team. A Crusade Team Made Up Of “Rookies” From Cornerstone Church (Mt. Laurel, NJ) And A Few Veteran Lady Saints Visited Two Prisons In PA In Mid-November. Complete Results Were Not Available At The Time Of Publication Due To Some Procedural Challenges Experienced With The PA Dept. Of Corrections, But The Gospel Was Shared With More Than 100 Women And At Least Eight Made A Profession Of Faith In Jesus Christ! This Is Jay’s Account Of The First Stop On The Crusade…
As the women of the Keystone Krusade Team were making the 3 ½ hour trek to SCI Muncy in November, one of the missionary-athletes read a verse of the day aloud. Acts 4:31 – “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” In hindsight, it matched our visit that day perfectly!
Three-days prior to this trip we were informed by the Recreational Director that the volleyball event was canceled due to a structural problem with the gymnasium. Our staff developed a new plan of action; with the help of the Recreation Director, we secured a room in a basement of the building and played cornhole, Pictionary, and cards with our sisters behind bars. Whatever it takes, right?
As the team and inmates bonded over the games, we transitioned into our standard Gospel presentation. Carolyn Jefferson introduced the Saints Prison Ministry, Nicole Zook shared a powerful testimony that prepared the inmate women’s minds and hearts for the Gospel presentation by Coach Gail Gargani.
Picture a basement with a low ceiling, and a group of 30 people consisting of corrections officers, inmates, and Saints missionary-athletes. What was incredibly touching during the presentation was you could hear a pin drop. Near the end of the message, I scanned the room – through tears in my own eyes – and every woman was glued to Gail’s Gospel presentation. The Holy Spirit was palpable when Gail said, “there is no place in the world that I would rather be than in this dungeon of a space, sharing the Gospel with all who are gathered here including the COs.”
After this incredible presentation, one of the leaders of the SCI Muncy Inmate Organization handed me a letter. It read:
New Jersey Saints: Thank you for coming to SCI Muncy through the years. We always look forward to playing volleyball, talking, and catching up. Unfortunately, this year, we were unable to play volleyball due to the issues in the gymnasium. However, we have been looking forward to all of you coming to spend the day with us. As a token of our appreciation, we are donating $500 to your organization on behalf of the Muncy Inmate Organization. Thank you again. Sincerely, Muncy Inmate Organization Jesus shares in Luke 21:1-4, “As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all others. All of these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
These women, who have no possessions of their own to speak of, devoted the time and energy to do whatever was necessary to raise what is in prison a monumental sum. Not out of their wealth, but in the face of conditions most of us would consider unbearable, they put the appreciation of the Saints visit above their own personal situation.
Imagine if we had never shown up due to the volleyball game being canceled. My lasting memory was there is no place on earth that I would have rather been when the Holy Spirit shook the basement and left us in awe of His majesty and goodness!