RMCNews and Ted Williams – Olathe, Colorado … What started as a request for a prison ministry presentation for the Olathe Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in Olathe, Colorado, grew into the expansion of a ministry to some our community’s most underserved: prison inmates.
Ted Williams, lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley, Lamar, and Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Swink, Lamar, and Trinidad, Colorado, respectively, held a prison ministry event at the Olathe Hispanic Church, June 21-22. Williams brought with him a formerly jailed gentleman, Tom, to give testimony at the event.
Williams became acquainted with Tom while he was incarcerated and picked him up upon his release from jail. He collected Tom, drove him to a hotel, and connected him to a church member that gave him some clothing. Tom gave testimony at the Arkansas Valley Church’s Sabbath service the very next day. Williams also facilitated finding him employment and integrating him into the church family.
Williams noted that, while incarcerated, Tom had established multiple Bible study groups. Tom’s first words upon leaving jail were, “I’m not ready to leave yet,” referring to Tom feeling that he had not completed his ministry to his fellow inmates.
At the first evening of the prison ministries event at the Olathe Hispanic Church, Williams spoke on freedom. “I want them to understand that we are all in prison. And once you have been set free, you have been set free to choose.”
Tom gave his powerful and emotional testimony at the Sabbath service the next day, and Williams concluded the event with an informational training session on the processes and how to effectively provide prison ministry.
From this event, Williams received six applications from individuals that want to volunteer to participate in this outreach ministry. He promptly drove the applications to the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He remarked that the CDOC greatly appreciates these volunteers and is eager to receive more to assign to facilities that do not have ministry volunteers.
“Folks that attended [the event] were deeply moved by this whole experience,” commented Williams. “It was a wonderful, spirit-filled weekend.”
Williams has been involved in this outreach ministry for almost two decades and is the RMC Prison Ministries director. The RMC Prison Ministries exists to train and support volunteers who are willing to visit, correspond with, and pray with prison inmates. To learn about volunteering in prison ministries, please contact Ted Williams at tedw@rmcsda.org or at (303) 887-9197.
—Ted Williams is lead pastor at the Arkansas Valley, Lamar, and Trinidad Seventh-day Adventist Churches. Photo by Ted Williams.
