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Contents: (click on link to display that story) The Christians' Prison Ministry "Hungering and thirsting after righteousness..." -- in Prison? |
THE CHRISTIANS' PRISONS MINISTRYThe Christians' Prisons Ministry was established in Abeka-Accra, Ghana, West Africa in 1981 and was registered as an N.G.O. (Non Governmental Organization) in 1985. The mission conducts Gospel preaching and Biblical teaching in James Fort Prison, James Camp Prison, James Camp Borstal Institute, Ussher Fort Prison, Nsawam Medium Security Prisons (Male and Female), and Salaga Prison. Christian Adjei, President of Ghana Christian College, serves as director along with three other staff members. ARM began partnership with this dedicated group in 2002. A short profile of the present staff: 1. Richard Arthur Duodu, a trained electrician, was a businessman who enrolled at Ghana Christian College & Seminary in September, 2000. He studied for three years, and graduated with a diploma in Religious Education and Pastoral Ministries. Richard, born in 1959, is married and has three children. He is an elder in the Church and works mainly with the James Camp Prisons and the Nsawam Male and Female Prisons. 2. Karimu Awari was a Muslim of northern Ghanaian extraction. After converting to Christ he enrolled at Ghana Christian College & Seminary in 1999, studied for four years, and graduated with a Higher Certificate in Religious Education and Pastoral Ministries. Karimu is married and has one child. He and his family went back to his people in the north and is now actively preaching and teaching at the Salaga Prison where the Lord is using him to bring salvation to Muslims and to "as many as the Lord our God shall call." He is a young man of 36 and very committed to the Cause. 3. Christian Adjei is a victim of polio contracted from infancy. He has managed, with the Lord's help, to become an outstanding leader in the Church. One of the highlights of his life occurred when he was at the funeral service of his late wife, Agnes. A man approached him and said, "I do not think you will remember me, but I was an inmate at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison where you used to come and preach. I became a Christian as a result of you and other people who served there." All praise to the Lord Jesus Christ! 4. Vanessa Sesi works primarily with female prisoners at the Nsawam prison and serves as office secretary. She is a graduate of Ghana Christian College & Seminary and is currently pursuing a masters degree. Presently the Christians’ Prisons Ministry is venturing into other prisons in Ghana. Their goal is to "free captives from the kingdom of darkness by bringing them into the Kingdom of Light." Please stand with them in prayer.
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ARM'S
American Bible Academy
-- 2004 Summary
42,370
courses were sent in 2004 --
115.7 per day on average!
New ABA
students in 2004: 21,543
Upper-class
Courses sent in 2004: 20,827
AN
AVERAGE OF 58.8 NEW STUDENTS
ENROLLED PER DAY IN 2004!
Every 24
minutes in 2004, ARM enrolled a NEW prisoner/student
into the ABA!
AN AVERAGE OF 56.9
UPPER-CLASS COURSES WERE SENT PER DAY IN 2004!
EVERY 12.4 minutes in 2004, a 120-page
Bible course was mailed from ARM to a prisoner!
ARM 2004 BAPTISTRY REPORT
In 2004, 78 total baptistries were donated and shipped!
There have been 1,158
baptistries donated to prisons in ARM's 31+ years of ministry!
In
addition, hundreds have been shipped to military bases and mission fields!
ARM/ABS
Bible Distribution News
ARM and the American Bible Society
partner in Bible distribution.
ARM's Bible Outreach
sent 2,941 cases
of Bibles to institutions in 2004.
In 2004,
ARM shipped OVER 100,000 Bibles to
prisons and jails.
ARM's
DAYSPRING Christian Card Report for 2004
In 2004,
4.86 Million DaySpring
greeting cards have been sent to prisons!
In the last 12
years, about 55 MILLION
cards have been sent to faithful chaplains
who distribute these to inmates as
a witness for Christ!
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Most Missourians complain about the state’s hard, "clayish," rocky soil. Simple gardening tasks often become major jobs. When a pickax had to be used to plant flowers in my yard, it was clear that I was now far from the soft, fertile, and rich soil of my boyhood home in Iowa. Iowa’s soil is a gardener’s dream; Missouri’s soil is a gardener’s worst nightmare! Stones! Clay! Rocks! When one considers the makeup of Missouri’s soil it is a wonder that any seed will take root and grow! Rapists! Murders! Bank robbers! Cocaine dealers! Child molesters! When one considers the makeup of our nation’s prisons, it is a wonder that any spiritual seed will take root and grow! What was Joe Garman thinking when he started A.R.M. nearly 32 years ago? Joe Garman was a humble servant who had faith in Jesus’ words of John 15:1, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." Through the hand of God, a seed of the Gospel can be planted in the stoniest of soil, AND IT WILL GROW! Satan has done his best to harden and contaminate the spiritual soil in our nations’ prisons, but God’s Word is accomplishing what He desires and achieving the purpose for which He sent it! (Isaiah 55:11) A quick glance at the chart "Spanish Courses Sent 1997-2004" helps one visualize the hunger for God’s Word in prison and the upcoming harvest that He will provide! God’s Word is watering and nourishing the spiritual soil in prisons across America, and the Master Gardener is causing a seed planted in stony places to bud and flourish!
The hand of the Master Gardener is continuing to bless the American Bible Academy. In the past 19 days, 1,400 new English and Spanish students have enrolled in the ABA! During the same period, 2,784 courses have been sent to inmates! The current Active Student Enrollment is 29,372! What was only a prayer when Joe Garman started A.R.M. in May 1973, has now become an answered prayer! A seed planted in stony places in 1973 is now growing, thriving, and producing a spiritual harvest! And God is not done yet! If the current growth rate continues, nearly 27,000 new inmates will be enrolled in the American Bible Academy in 2005—shattering all previous enrollment records! The Master Gardener has provided A.R.M. with a variety of tools to dig, till, and cultivate the spiritual soil of America’s jails/prisons. One unique tool that the Lord has placed in our hands is the American Bible Academy. Together, the supporters and staff of A.R.M. have shared the love and message of Jesus with TENS OF THOUSANDS of inmates and currently are teaching over 29,000 active students! What a joy it is to plant the seeds of the Gospel through comprehensive 120-page Bible courses, cultivating and bringing a harvest in the hearts and minds of inmates through the Word of God! For 32 years, the seeds of the Gospel have been planted, and the harvest is in sight! I pray that the Master Gardener will continue to work through you and your congregation to continue the mission of a ministry dedicated to planting a seed in stony places. In His Service, Joe Welch, Director American Bible Academy |
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