By Paul Schreiber
I
n Eastern Nebraska, staff and members of Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church in Omaha have been behind bars. It’s not as bad as it sounds. At Divine Shepherd, work being done by Vern Nemitz (the church’s director of outreach), along with members Joni Johnson, Lyle Kruse, Dean Raabe, and others have been making inroads with those on the inside. Through weekly visits with prisoners at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, they offer prayer, friendship, and (above all else) the life-changing Good News of God’s love in Jesus Christ. “It’s Matthew 25 stuff!” said Senior Pastor Dr. Mark Hannemann, referencing the Scripture where Jesus speaks about caring for the “least of these” who are thirsty, hungry, without clothes, sick, and in prison. “Joni Johnson has been going to the youth detention center each week for a number of years. Dean has partnered with Lyle and is involved. Vern is our most experienced prison visitor and has many stories to share. We have been recruiting more to be involved. Things are developing in the Nebraska District as well, and our guys are leading the way,” he added. Nemitz has been working in prison ministry for 15 years. He said members from Divine Shepherd visit people at adult and youth jails in Omaha, as well as the medium/maximum state prison in Tecumseh. Some go as often as three times a week. They visit about 100 prisoners in all. However, there are hurdles when trying to spark interest in this kind of ministry. He said, “Most people don’t want anything to do with prisoners because of who they are and what they have done. But we all fall short
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The Lutheran Layman January-February 2015
of the glory of God, and He wants them to know Him, also. As a prerequisite for this kind of service, he says people need to “have a heart for people and meet them where they are in life—and forgive them, as Christ has forgiven us.” “For most people, this ministry is one of those ‘I could never do that’ ministries,” Hannemann said. “Few people are willing to go through the steps to meet the requirements to become a regular visitor in jails or prisons. It is a bit daunting to be locked up yourself. It is scary. The ‘least of these’ population in our jails and prisons are one of the most neglected populations because, after all, they are getting what they deserve, right? But these, too, are those for whom Christ died,” he added. In addition to providing prisoners with Bibles, the prison ministry volunteers give inmates inspirational cards and notes penned by young people and ladies from the church (no personal names included); copies of Portals of Prayer and the Gospel of John; study Bibles for inmate group leaders; Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Project Connect booklets and sermon CDs from The Lutheran Hour and, as funds allow, Christmas gifts for inmates’ children who have no money; gas cards for family members, when necessary, to visit inmates; and drinks and snacks for inmates attending Bible studies. Of the Project Connect booklets, Kruse, a trained Stephen minister and a three-year veteran of prison ministry, emphasized, “These booklets really work. We’re sending about 100-150 of them per month to prisoners, and we’re sharing booklets with several other people in other cities in Nebraska to be used for prison ministry. One of the best