The Joyful Burden

my congregation and shared the Gospel message with our soldiers. I reminded them that once
again God's message of forgiveness and grace is being freely preached in this land.
In the midst of all this death and destruction, hate and depravity God's light of salvation and
grace is shining bright as our men and women are accepting the forgiveness and salvation that He
so freely offers to all who simply ask. As I looked back over these first six months, I have come to
realize that my reason for being here is not to rid the world of terrorism or overthrow evil
dictators, but to present the saving message of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is the reason why I choose to follow God's leading into the Army Chaplaincy, to be a voice in
the mist of war and death, to proclaim peace and salvation for those who are lost and to introduce
my Savior to those who are desperately looking for a way to make sense of the madness around
them.
People often tell me how they are proud of the service I am giving to our country, but beyond my
duty to our country, I serve my Savior and proudly stand before our soldiers and proclaim the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I openly share with them how they too can experience a life changing
encounter with God and receive His forgiveness. That is why we say in the Army Chaplaincy "For
God and Country"
In Christ,
Rev. Kevin M. Doll, U.S. Army Chaplain
Inmates Evangelize and Disciple Others
and a challenging week in ministry
Chaplain Steve Francis, Centinela State Prison, CA
The ministry challenges and rewards your prison chaplains face is vividly described in the following
account by Chaplain Steve Francis...
On Friday we had an incident on C yard between two racial groups that locked-down the yard
and of course disrupted chapel services for the weekend. Tension between the races are increasing
around the state and we are being warned to be on guard and be prepared. It is so important to
the Christian inmates to be able to "gather...together" (Heb. 10:24-25) and so often we see the
Enemy throwing up his roadblocks.
I have thought a lot about that passage of scripture over the years. Too often I have heard people
say that you don't have to go to church to be a Christian. Yet the emphasis of the passage is not on
the individual but on the body of Christ (the local church) and the importance of each individual
being there to be an encouragement (stimulation) to love and good deeds. The need for this is
really emphasized in the jail, prison or persecuted church setting.
Pray that the Lord would open the doors of the chapel as often as possible so that our brothers
might fulfill his command to gather.
On Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing 10 men on Facility D. This yard houses about 1000
men of which about 400 are on loan from the Federal Government (INS) awaiting deportation or
serving out state prison terms which will be followed by deportation. Most of them are of Mexican,
Central or South American origin and speak little English and primarily Spanish. The majority
will only be with us for less than 90 days and the inmate leadership on that yard take their
ministry very seriously. They are very evangelistic, turning many from the traditions of their
family to Biblical Christianity. They then meet with them almost daily to disciple them and
prepare them to go back home as evangelists and ministers. A number have gone back to their