I have not had the chance to update in a while but some exciting things are happening with the ministry. First I would like to invite anyone who would like to to become what we are calling an "ambassador". This is a simple way to help inmates and their families enter into the local church and get grounded. We are asking for people, men and women, who can meet an inmate at the door of your church when they come, who will sit with them during service and introduce them to the staff and others in the church. After that service give them a call and tell them how much you appreciate them coming and invite them back. Past that it is up to you how involved you become with this person and their family. We are really looking for people who can just make the inmate and their family feel welcome when they come to your church. And, as always, keep them in your prayers.
     Also I felt like it was appropriate to give a better working definition of what our goals and processes are for this ministry. This includes a vision and a mission statement (as best as I can write them). Our core beliefs I am posting in another section of the blog to be more accessible to anyone who comes onto the website. Thanks for taking the time to read through and please remember this ministry in prayer.

HIDDEN BARS

VISION STATEMENT: It is our vision to remove the hidden hindrances, obstacles, lies, and restraints in Inmate’s lives by exposing them to the truths of identity, inheritance, and purpose. We also have a desire to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the Inmate’s family.

IDENTITY: “Seeing yourself as God sees you.” We must let God - not the world, our family, friends, circumstances, or ourselves - define us. We must get our definition of who we are from God and His love for us. We do this by hearing God tell us who we are through His written and spoken word.

INHERITANCE: “The Kingdom of Heaven is yours to give.” We must walk in our inheritance now. Our inheritance is not just heaven when we die. Our inheritance is the power and goodness of God to change the world we live in. We do this by walking in faith and doing what we see the Father doing.

PURPOSE: “Your unique anointing in the Kingdom.” We each have a calling in this life to be more with God than we could ever be by ourselves. Our purpose is closely linked to our identity. We find our own unique purpose in this life through humility and guidance. Humility, because we must realize that we don’t have the best plans for our life, God does. We also know that our complete purpose may be revealed over a course of time as we move from victory to victory. So we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance for our day to day walk and look to what God has done and is doing in our lives so we can be better prepared for where God will take us next.

MISSION STATEMENT: We believe that change must first start in the spirit and from there move into the soul (mind, will, emotions) and finally the body. With this as a core belief, Hidden Bars will focus on one-on-one and corporate, Spirit led discipleship putting an emphasis on ministering as the Holy Spirit reveals. We feel this is best communicated through corporate worship, corporate teaching, and one on one prayer ministry for the Inmates. Once the Inmate is released we work to help them find employment and get them grounded in a church body. We also wish to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of the Inmates family by getting them grounded in a local church body, providing for their physical needs that are within our ability to aid, and pointing them to such organizations as can help when their needs exceed our resources while the Inmate is incarcerated.