In October of 2000, Forgiven Ministry was established as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization; but the story of Forgiven Ministry began in 1995. That’s when Jack and Scottie Barnes had a thriving business in Taylorsville, North Carolina. They were busy following their own plans, purposes and pursuits in life, which did not include prison ministry. To be honest, they had never asked God what His plan was for them. Like many, they may have been afraid to ask God what His divine plan was for their lives.
The Superintendent and Chaplain of the local prison walked into their boutique one day and asked Scottie if she would speak at the Sunday night worship service at the prison. In her spirit she thought, “I don’t ever intend to go back to prison. I had visited my father in prison since the age of 4, virtually all of my life.” She looked at him and said, “I really don’t have anything to say to them”. With a sincere look he said, “Wasn’t your daddy saved before he served his last prison term as a drug kingpin?” Since that probing question, Scottie no longer had an excuse for not serving her Lord in prison, Matthew 25:36. “…I was in prison, and you visited me.”
When she got to the prison, her testimony began to unravel with such an anointing that she knew that she was in the presence of the Lord doing His perfect will.
Prior to going, she had asked the Lord to save the inmate closest to eternity. That night a small grey headed man came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Little did Scottie know that he was dying of cancer and had only days to live. That was confirmation that God had a plan for her life. And the journey that began that Sunday evening has taken Jack and Scottie many miles walking beside their Savior.
Now we invite you to take that journey with us through the work of Forgiven Ministry.
In 2002, Jack and Scottie were invited to do a 14-day trip to the Philippines sharing Scottie’s testimony of forgiveness. On the last leg of the trip, while in Cebu; they were invited to speak at Project Mercy, an orphanage. Twelve year old Ezekiel had heard of Scottie’s search for her father’s love and wanted her to pray for him to find his father. He had been abandoned at age 2 and left in “trash city.” Encouraging Ezekiel to keep praying, Scottie left the facility and thought that she would never see him again. God had another plan and truly this was a divine appointment. The next day, while leaving a speaking engagement at a prison she heard a loud voice come across the prison yard with these words: “Hey, hey.” She stood in front of an elderly Filipino and heard him say, “Today, I asked Jesus into my heart. I have a little boy, his name is Ezekiel, and I want to tell him that I love him.” Immediately Scottie knew that God had a purpose, and soon she would see the plan be revealed as the work of reconciliation burdened her heart. Six months later the first camp of reconciliation was done in the United States. Truly, God had to take Jack and Scottie to a third-world country to reveal His divine plan for Forgiven Ministry. The camps began as three-day programs, and now in 2009, the ministry has been blessed to take children across our nation into a beautiful day of unconditional love and reconciliation.
In September 2004, Warden Cain of Angola, Louisiana, invited Forgiven Ministry to bring “One Day with God” camps to Louisiana State Penitentiary. God used the Angola camp as a proving ground that nothing was too hard for God. Three hundred children were wrapped in the unconditional love of their fathers that day and it was evident that this was a unique plan. The ground breaking “One Day with God” Child/inmate camps have been received with great enthusiasm by parents, children, and prison officials alike. The child and inmate parent are guided through a series of spiritually based events involving a mixture of relationship building and fun, designed to open a dialog and begin the process of healing and reconciliation. Both child and parent are prepared in advance for an event that is both structured and balanced. There are many ways that Forgiven Ministry does follow-up with the children and inmate parents. Thirty such camps have been completed in the year 2009. These 30 camps served approximately 750 inmates, 1500 children and 550 caregivers. Approximately 3,000 trained volunteers gave of their time to carry out the 2009 camps.
Forgiven Ministry opened Ezekiel’s Room, the first children’s center anywhere in North Carolina in November 2004. It is housed at Alexander Correctional in Taylorsville, NC. The center is named for the boy in the Philippines and has the theme, “Hands Reaching, Hearts Touching”. This truly is the heart of Ezekiel’s Room. Ezekiel’s Room volunteers work with inmate children every Saturday during visitation time. They minister and share their love with these precious little ones through organized programs and activities. It is an opportunity for children to interact with others in similar circumstances.
In the fall of 2005 in Angie, Louisiana, God impressed Scottie with a verse that would take the ministry on a compassionate journey. The words “No, I can’t,” would not be part of the language for this ministry. At 3:00 AM, the verse of scripture in Proverbs 3:27 became etched in Scottie’s heart: “With hold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” From that night until the present, Forgiven Ministry has known where the power comes from and that we are called to bring good to those who are down-trodden in the dark world of incarceration.
A vision was turned into reality in June of 2007 when Adams’ Center was opened. Adams’ Center serves as a hospitality house for the many visitors who come to Alexander Correctional and surrounding prisons during the visitation periods. Volunteers work at the center to minister to these individuals and families. A continental breakfast and lunch is served to those that come by the center. It is a center offering hope and encouragement for these lives darkened by incarceration.
There are many areas of service and programs that we are privileged to do within Forgiven Ministry. There is no doubt that in the trash of incarceration, we find gold nuggets living behind barbed wire, in broken hearted families, and in children who live in shame. What a joy to be part of a ministry that walks beside families in hopelessness and despair. Their hearts’ cry is Forgiven Ministry’s heart beat.
The Superintendent and Chaplain of the local prison walked into their boutique one day and asked Scottie if she would speak at the Sunday night worship service at the prison. In her spirit she thought, “I don’t ever intend to go back to prison. I had visited my father in prison since the age of 4, virtually all of my life.” She looked at him and said, “I really don’t have anything to say to them”. With a sincere look he said, “Wasn’t your daddy saved before he served his last prison term as a drug kingpin?” Since that probing question, Scottie no longer had an excuse for not serving her Lord in prison, Matthew 25:36. “…I was in prison, and you visited me.”
When she got to the prison, her testimony began to unravel with such an anointing that she knew that she was in the presence of the Lord doing His perfect will.
Prior to going, she had asked the Lord to save the inmate closest to eternity. That night a small grey headed man came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Little did Scottie know that he was dying of cancer and had only days to live. That was confirmation that God had a plan for her life. And the journey that began that Sunday evening has taken Jack and Scottie many miles walking beside their Savior.
Now we invite you to take that journey with us through the work of Forgiven Ministry.
In 2002, Jack and Scottie were invited to do a 14-day trip to the Philippines sharing Scottie’s testimony of forgiveness. On the last leg of the trip, while in Cebu; they were invited to speak at Project Mercy, an orphanage. Twelve year old Ezekiel had heard of Scottie’s search for her father’s love and wanted her to pray for him to find his father. He had been abandoned at age 2 and left in “trash city.” Encouraging Ezekiel to keep praying, Scottie left the facility and thought that she would never see him again. God had another plan and truly this was a divine appointment. The next day, while leaving a speaking engagement at a prison she heard a loud voice come across the prison yard with these words: “Hey, hey.” She stood in front of an elderly Filipino and heard him say, “Today, I asked Jesus into my heart. I have a little boy, his name is Ezekiel, and I want to tell him that I love him.” Immediately Scottie knew that God had a purpose, and soon she would see the plan be revealed as the work of reconciliation burdened her heart. Six months later the first camp of reconciliation was done in the United States. Truly, God had to take Jack and Scottie to a third-world country to reveal His divine plan for Forgiven Ministry. The camps began as three-day programs, and now in 2009, the ministry has been blessed to take children across our nation into a beautiful day of unconditional love and reconciliation.
In September 2004, Warden Cain of Angola, Louisiana, invited Forgiven Ministry to bring “One Day with God” camps to Louisiana State Penitentiary. God used the Angola camp as a proving ground that nothing was too hard for God. Three hundred children were wrapped in the unconditional love of their fathers that day and it was evident that this was a unique plan. The ground breaking “One Day with God” Child/inmate camps have been received with great enthusiasm by parents, children, and prison officials alike. The child and inmate parent are guided through a series of spiritually based events involving a mixture of relationship building and fun, designed to open a dialog and begin the process of healing and reconciliation. Both child and parent are prepared in advance for an event that is both structured and balanced. There are many ways that Forgiven Ministry does follow-up with the children and inmate parents. Thirty such camps have been completed in the year 2009. These 30 camps served approximately 750 inmates, 1500 children and 550 caregivers. Approximately 3,000 trained volunteers gave of their time to carry out the 2009 camps.
Forgiven Ministry opened Ezekiel’s Room, the first children’s center anywhere in North Carolina in November 2004. It is housed at Alexander Correctional in Taylorsville, NC. The center is named for the boy in the Philippines and has the theme, “Hands Reaching, Hearts Touching”. This truly is the heart of Ezekiel’s Room. Ezekiel’s Room volunteers work with inmate children every Saturday during visitation time. They minister and share their love with these precious little ones through organized programs and activities. It is an opportunity for children to interact with others in similar circumstances.
In the fall of 2005 in Angie, Louisiana, God impressed Scottie with a verse that would take the ministry on a compassionate journey. The words “No, I can’t,” would not be part of the language for this ministry. At 3:00 AM, the verse of scripture in Proverbs 3:27 became etched in Scottie’s heart: “With hold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” From that night until the present, Forgiven Ministry has known where the power comes from and that we are called to bring good to those who are down-trodden in the dark world of incarceration.
A vision was turned into reality in June of 2007 when Adams’ Center was opened. Adams’ Center serves as a hospitality house for the many visitors who come to Alexander Correctional and surrounding prisons during the visitation periods. Volunteers work at the center to minister to these individuals and families. A continental breakfast and lunch is served to those that come by the center. It is a center offering hope and encouragement for these lives darkened by incarceration.
There are many areas of service and programs that we are privileged to do within Forgiven Ministry. There is no doubt that in the trash of incarceration, we find gold nuggets living behind barbed wire, in broken hearted families, and in children who live in shame. What a joy to be part of a ministry that walks beside families in hopelessness and despair. Their hearts’ cry is Forgiven Ministry’s heart beat.
It was a cold winter day in January when we left the grave of my father. I remember saying these words, "If God could ever use the story of his life, I'd share it wherever God wanted it told."
Ten years later I was invited to visit our local prison unit. I shared my Dad's story and was amazed how God chose to use it for His glory. I saw inmates weep and identify with the words I spoke. I saw the Holy Spirit of God begin to soften those hardened hearts. When our local unit closed, I prayed, "Lord help me to find my place in your work." Immediately God opened doors for me to share my testimony in prisons, churches and children's homes.
Ten years later I was invited to visit our local prison unit. I shared my Dad's story and was amazed how God chose to use it for His glory. I saw inmates weep and identify with the words I spoke. I saw the Holy Spirit of God begin to soften those hardened hearts. When our local unit closed, I prayed, "Lord help me to find my place in your work." Immediately God opened doors for me to share my testimony in prisons, churches and children's homes.