The Lord has given each of us our own work to do. I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God has been making it grow. So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the important one. (1 Cor. 3: 5b-7; NIrV).

For the past seven years I have had the privilege of helping you plant seeds, water both tender shoots and mature plants, and harvest souls for Jesus’ sake. It’s now time for another “farmer” to guide and foster this ministry. Occasions like this provide an opportunity to count blessings in the past and anticipate God’s love in the future.

Some of the enduring memories I take from my time here are the comments from our students. They tell how our Bible studies have helped them come to know Jesus or know him better, or how they are eternally grateful for all the volunteers. For instance, William, a student in Arizona says: “I enjoy learning and these study guides bring me joy and shine God’s light in this dark place I’ve put myself in. Thank you for all the encouragement!”

Another memory I take with me is the love and dedication of all our volunteers, donors, and staff. Thank you all for your support and service to the Lord that was not in vain. It was especially gratifying to see the enthusiasm of our volunteers as they labored into their 80’s, 90’s and even 100’s. One of my great joys was providing an opportunity for meaningful kingdom work for seasoned Christians who don’t have other options. I’ll also remember the faces of our volunteers who finished their race here and heard their Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Our verse reminds us that there is only one thing that truly matters, Jesus our God and Lord. He gave us the work to do and blessed it. And there is much left to do. I pray our ministry masters and greatly expands digital delivery of God’s saving Word. I pray that our ministry increases visits to current inmates and mentoring former ones.

As John the Baptist said: “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30, NIV) I commend this ministry and all of you in Jesus’ harvest field into the nail-scarred hands of him who desperately loves us and those we serve. Trust Jesus as you continue to support and serve in his name.

Dave Hochmuth, WELS Prison Ministry administrator

 

 

 

One of the blessings of our integration with IM is the additional human resources that will be used to meet ministry needs. A complete listing of the IM staff can be found at im.life/our-staff. We’d like to introduce three of the key players who will have large roles in carrying out the work that WELS Prison Ministry has historically undertaken. These are Rev. Phil Henselin, executive director; Rev. Ed Frey, director of ministry; and Mrs. Tricia Parkhurst, volunteer coordinator. Short job descriptions for each are provided at the link above. Here’s a bit more detail with respect to the integration:

As executive director, Phil Henselin has overall responsibility for ensuring that the integration goes smoothly by assigning the appropriate IM personnel to integrate the new IM tasks with the existing IM work. He keeps the IM Board of Directors informed of all integration activities and works with Joel Gaertner and IM financial staff to take care of the transition of financial support.

Ed Frey, director of ministry, has responsibility for making sure the correspondence ministry and other aspects of WELS Prison Ministry continue and, Lord willing, expand under IM leadership. Ed will work to maintain the library of studies and add to it. He works closely with the volunteer coordinator to ensure the resources are available to get the ministry’s work done.

Volunteer Coordinator Tricia Parkhurst is integrating IM’s volunteer recruiting and support system with that of WELS Prison Ministry. She will support Amy Rich and Beth Kretsch, who will continue to operate the New Ulm office and direct the volunteers there. Tricia coordinates other resources, including IM’s HelpReturning resource database to assist released inmates. This integrates well with our “Mentoring a Returning Citizen” training course.

As this work moves forward, we pray that the LORD of the Church continues to bless this integration effort.