Many of you volunteer to come to Louisiana State Penitentiary on a regular basis to facilitate discipleship training studies and work and support the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension Center at Angola. This precious time away from families and churches, as well as the traveling expenses, are personal sacrifices.
Many of you volunteer to come to Louisiana State Penitentiary on a regular
basis to facilitate discipleship training studies and work and support the New
Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension Center at Angola. This precious
time away from families and churches, as well as the traveling expenses, are
personal sacrifices.
I thank God for each volunteer and for the wives and children who share their
husbands, fathers and grandfathers with us. Your sacrifices are touching the
lives of many. You are fulfilling the Great Commission. We ask God daily to
watch over you, protect you and provide for your every need.
For those who contribute financially, please be aware that
your contributions are assisting the mission field within this prison. Your
money buys books for studies, supports the New Orleans Seminary Extension Center
and pays for other Christian materials for incarcerated men.
In return, men are being trained to evangelize their peers
within this institution. Extension Center graduates have begun to minister in
all areas of the prison. Men are changing their lives. Men are being saved and
revived. God is using you in a mighty way. Some of these men will be coming
back to the community where you live. They will no longer be a threat to society
and will be your brothers in Christ!
I write from personal knowledge and experience from being a
graduate of the seminary and an inmate minister assigned to Angola’s Death
Row, where my duties include witnessing to more than 90 men. God has used your
contributions to prepare me for his work. I thank God for you! In a time when
Christians are being persecuted and Southern Baptists are being criticized,
you should be proud. You make me thankful to be a member of the church and your
brother in Christ.
Jess Deters
Angola
Editor’s Note: During the Christmas holidays, several letters related
to the 2000 Louisiana Baptist Convention in Alexandria continued to arrive in
the Baptist Message office. However, the Baptist Message has decided not to
publish any additional letters related to the recent annual meeting for several
reasons – because of the lapse of time since the state convention in November,
because of the break in continuity with the absence of a Louisiana Baptist Message
on December 28 and because the convention was sufficiently addressed in letters
published immediately following the convention. The newspaper continues to welcome
letters to the editor and remains committed to publishing those that meet approved
guidelines. However, as it relates to the recent annual meeting, it seems time
to move on to other issues of concern. Thank you for your readership and for
the letters you continue to send.