Connecting with the world in service is one of our primary goals at Rustic Hills. We want to help everyone find a way to share the Good News of Jesus with people in the marketplace (work, school, neighborhood, family).
Dennis Wylie has been involved for several years in a local program called P 2 which arranges for individuals to meet with and mentor someone in the local jail. Sometimes these individuals are serving a sentence and sometimes they are waiting for a trial, but they need someone who can meet with them and be a friend during a difficult time. Dennis has been doing this ministry for several years now.
Within the last year, Dennis has been working with a young man named Anthony. We have prayed for Anthony as a church family on several occasions. Anthony recently was allowed to participate in a Christian based program for those dealing with addictions: Teen Challenge. He wrote Dennis to let him know how things were going.
8-14-2010
Dear Dennis,
I got your letter just the other day. I’m sorry that you couldn’t see me ’cause I was in lockdown in jail. But I wanna thank you for showing up in court and always showing up to see me. You helped me a lot. This “Teen Challenge” place is awesome. I came so much closer with God. I’m working on forgiving others, accepting people for who they are and not what they do, things like that. I’m still working on more things. I’m really glad that the judge let me come here instead of prison. Amen, right? When I got your letter I was told I couldn’t write anybody but family members. But I got the OK to write you, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve been keeping in touch with my parents. So far everything is going good. Thanks for encouraging me to come here, and getting me prepared for the worst if it happened. Alright, well, I’m, going to leave off from here. Thanks for everything. you can write back if you want or I can.
Anthony
If you are interested in the jail ministry you can talk to Dennis who can give you more information about training and requirements. if you are having difficulty figuring out how to connect with your marketplace, please talk to Pastor Mike for ideas that will fit your gifts and personality.