An Audience of One

“Never pander to the opinions of man when God has given you clear instructions. You are to play to an audience of one -- God.” – Os Hillman

Back in the 1990s, the prison ministry that God had led me to launch was expanding exponentially. We had started by ministering exclusively in prisons in the MidAtlantic States – New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland – but God was beginning to open doors for us across America. In 1992, our basketball team began going to Florida on an annual basis and soon, our touring sports teams were crisscrossing the entire country.

With more than 2,000,000 inmates and 5,000 correctional institutions in the United States, the sky was the limit!

However, our new board president had a different idea. At one of our board meetings, he suggested that we decline invitations from prisons in other states and cut back on the number of games we played overall in order to conduct regular Bible study classes in a handful of local prisons. Basically, he believed that we should place less emphasis on evangelism and more on discipleship.

Knowing the specific vision that God had given me for our ministry, I vigorously countered his argument. “Why should we stop doing what no other prison ministry is doing – using sports to reach inmates who refuse to attend a chapel service, Bible study, or other conventional religious program – and start duplicating what every other prison ministry is doing?” I asked him.

Fortunately, I was able to persuade the other board members to adopt my approach and so, instead of contracting, our ministry continued to expand. Soon, we were sending softball teams to minister as far away as Washington State and Oregon… and Arizona and New Mexico… and Colorado and Canada. We also established branch offices in Colorado Springs, Richmond, Charlotte, and Atlanta, which enabled us to minister to inmates in those regions more regularly.

And yes, we also instituted a Bible correspondence school with 2,000 inmate students as well as an active pen pal program and a birthday card ministry that reached 24,000 prisoners each year... thereby proving that evangelism and discipleship are not mutually exclusive.

My friend, when God tells you to do something… do it! After all, His voice and vote are the only ones that count.

“For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NASB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President