One Day With God in Muskegon - A Chance For Prisoners and Their Kids to Connect

People make mistakes.  We have a system of justice that hopefully gives those who have made some really big mistakes a chance to reform themselves.  Some say it works, others disagree.  Not really the point of the story for our purposes today.  What I'd like you to think about is those around the offender, and how their lives can be drastically interrupted with the absence of the person who found themselves in jail or prison.

I first found out about One Day With God when we happened to stumble upon it one night on TV.  It was a very well done story, and as we were pausing to see if we wanted to keep watching, it came up that the particular event they were covering just happened to be in Muskegon.  We stayed and watched the story.  It opened my eyes to the other side of the coin when it comes to punishment and the ripple effects.

People who make mistakes....they are human.  Yes, there should be punishment involved, and when the sentence is given, it can create a huge hole in the lives of the people around the offender.  Parents have a missing person..a spouse can quickly find themselves a single parent...and kids....kids who think their parents are perfect, only to find out that they are not...and then..they are gone.  It's an awful lot for a young and developing mind to try and comprehend.  That's where One Day With God comes in.

It's a comprehensive program.  There is a mentor that works in advance with the kids to help prepare them and work with them to encourage the parents on.  I can only imagine how hard it must be for a parent to face a child and admit, they did wrong.  On the other side of the coin...the children are visiting a jail.  Ever been to one?  Not much in the comfort department.  They get a day to do as much as they can that would be considered "normal".  Meals, time to talk, games, inspiration and actual physical contact.  All so very important to kids.

In Muskegon, Mike Van Kempen of the Fellowship Church on Apple Ave sponsors this program and they extend this ministry to those incarcerated and their families... take a listen to our talk below.

Crime deserves consequences.  I do believe that, but the TV show opened my mind up to the other side of the story, and hopefully yours a little.  No one is asking for much more than the willingness to find forgiveness in your heart and realize there are those who are caught in the middle of all of it and even with some imperfections, some of those caught still need the love of a parent and more over...those who are doing their time...they need to know that their life is so much more than a bad decision.  If you'd like to know more about this, you can click on the logo below to visit the Fellowship Church of  Muskegon events page.

Sponsor Message