Loraine Joy McBurney, CA Aglow Prayer Team, recently started working again with the women in the Colusa County Jail. She is adjusting her approach as she learns what is effective in reaching them.
Loraine writes:
I’m going in to the Colusa County Jail every other Sunday to minister to the women there. At first I felt rather hopeless, the women were uncooperative, and interrupted constantly. It seemed they really didn’t want to be in the meeting.
My next visit was different, I regrouped and used a sermon from my pastor entitled “He Restores My Joy”. My joy was restored when all 6 ladies who attended prayed to receive Christ!
Yesterday I realized part of the turmoil is that they are clueless about the Bible. One of the women asked, “Doesn’t the Bible say that only men get saved and can go to Heaven?” Some basic Bible teaching was needed so I taught on “Who Is Jesus”, and “What Is Salvation”, and will follow up with Aglow Bible studies on those topics next time.
In this visit some of the women still seemed skeptical, but 7 were attentive. I felt led to intersperse the message with personal testimonies of God’s healing and love. At the end of the session I got to pray for 2 of the women to receive the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues was new to them, but I will include a teaching on this soon.
I am so encouraged by the responses the women are having, the group is changing and the women seem hungry to know more!
1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.