Monthly Update : May & June 2026

Making a difference update, from the recovery field – May / June 2026 edition. Below are the highlights that happened in the Life Issues ministry over the last couple of months.


I. BENEVOLENCE

• We paid for student's child to play soccer 5-15.

• We mowed yard for lady on 5-17 who was in the hospital.

• We helped a lady move on 5-30 – see pic.

• We helped a student with down payment on her apartment 6-2.

• We paid a couple’s electric bill on 7-27.

• We paid a repair bill on a lady’s car on 7-28.

• We gave a few boxes of food away over the last couple of months, from our Morsels For Many pantry.




II. JAIL / PRISON / COURT UPDATE

• We dropped off a box of Bibles at CCJ on 6-14 and another on 6-22, inmates like our Bibles!

• We dropped off 40 "thin blue line" Bibles for deputies on 6-23 to commemorate USA's 250-year anniversary – see pic.

• I went to court with one of our students last week, to support her getting her kids back.

• One of our students completed his SATOP class and got his license back last week.

• We provided 20 hours of community service to a lady over the course of 2 months.

• Our Prisoners Of Hope (POH) jail ministry is going well, we’re fully staffed now and sending teams of men and women into the Cass County Jail (CCJ) every Sunday afternoon!

• There are 3 men getting out of prison later this year, that we’re writing to and hoping to see in our group.




III. CHURCH

• Several of our students and leaders are involved in discipleship:

o D1: These folks are in our one-on-one discipleship material – T.J. C. is with Pat L. (Lesson #13), Chris F. is with Caleb L. (Lesson #16), Rosie G. is with Sherry W. (Lesson #5), Julie S. is with Mary W. (Lesson #15), Jenny G. is with Pam J. (Lesson #3).

o D2 (classroom teaching that focuses on the Word and Work of ministry): Kelly T.

o HBI (our 4-year Bible Institute): Caleb L are taking classes in HBI.

o TJH (The Journey Home): Caleb G. is with Pat L. (Lesson #2), and Doug H. is with Kevin W. (Lesson #6), Pam J. is with Kalee R. (Lesson #1)

• Pam J. graduated from HBI on May 31st – see pic.

• HBF held Church in the park June 7th, and many of our students and leaders were present.

• Megan W. got baptized on 6-14 – see pic.

• Pat Lee led several groups to 11 different world cup events over the space of 31 days while KC hosted games and fan experiences; several of our folks went out with Pat – see pic of me.

IV. RECOVERY

• We dropped a case Bibles for Tommy M., the pastor of Recovery Church on 7-24.

• We added another resource to our website, it is for Fentanyl crises and Narcan overdose prevention, see LIFE ISSUES - An Addiction Recovery Ministry: RESOURCES for more info.

• We are saddened to communicate that we lost another former student, Anthony Battaglia, on July 13th – see pic.

• We traveled to Leeton MO., on July 18th to communicate how our program works, to a church that just started a recovery group one month prior. One of their students accepted Christ and he and the pastor are beginning The Journey Home (TJH) workbook together, PTL!

• We have turned in the final draft of TJH to Living Faith Publishing for editing and publishing and are hoping to see this work reach its completion for distribution in 2027! In the meantime, we continue to print copies at our local church and use it one on one as is.

• I took one of our folks to the Salvation Army’s 6-month ARC program on July 24th – see pic.

V. EVENTS

• I went to youth camp with our church this year from June 28th through July 3rd, and 4 young people gave their lives to Christ. It was a hot week but so worth it to ministry to our youth!

• Many of our folks helped with HBF’s VBS this year, and Chris and Lauren Coen were the leaders of it. There were 150 young people who signed up, so our little church was full, and at least 1 youth gave their life to Christ, hallelujah – see pics with Chris and Lauren.

• Life Issues will be hosting its 14th annual Homecoming fundraiser on September 4th @ 7pm.

o Lieutenant Sutcliffe from Cass County Jail will be our keynote speaker.

o Attached is the cover letter to explain who we are and what we’re doing.

o There will be booths with other recovery resources, and some door prizes.

o There will be testimonies of victory through Christ, and you’re invited!




VI. PEOPLE

• Julie S. gave a powerful testimony on June 26th; we’re very proud of her!

• Mark L. prayed to be saved at church with Pat Lee on June 21st!

• Tellie D. accepted Christ with Pat Lee at our July 3rd meeting!

• Kevin W. Testimony 

"Before I started going to Life Issues Recovery Group, I was struggling with lust, pornography, and alcohol. I kept trying to change on my own, but I always ended up right back where I started. I felt ashamed and like I was never going to be free. When I started coming to Life Issues and really started following Christ, everything began to change. I found people who understood what I was going through and pointed me back to Jesus instead of judging me. I'm not perfect, but my life is completely different now. Jesus has given me strength to fight the things that used to control me, and He's changing my heart every day. I have more peace, more hope, and a better relationship with God than I've ever had before. Life Issues has shown me that real freedom comes through Christ, and I'm thankful for how God has used this group to change my life. I know I still have growing to do, but I'm not the same person I used to be, and I give God all the glory for that."



VII. PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS

• Praise and pray for our jail ministry to win souls and connect them to a Bible believing church.

• Please pray for our new discipleship students and TJH students to finish pathways.

• Please pray for God to use us mightily in the remainder of 2026, for without him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things!

 

Sincerely, Steve Fleshman – Life Issues pastor and founder, Proverbs 4:23…

Monthly Update - March & April 2026

Making a difference update, from the recovery field – March / April 2026 edition. Below are the highlights that happened in the Life Issues ministry over the last couple of months.


I. Benevolence

· We gave box of food to a man on 3-15, and another box or two in April.
· We paid for part of a lady’s car repair on 3-31
· We put a man up in a motel for two nights on 4-11
· We paid for student's prescription medication on 4-25
· We put up a man in a motel on 4-26

II. Jail / prison update

· Our jail ministry is going full steam ahead; we have over a dozen HBF members on our team who are on a rotation to go into Cass County Jail (CCJ) every Sunday from 1:30-3:30pm to provide a church service to the inmates and to share the gospel and give inmates hope.
· We dropped off a box of Bibles at CCJ on 3-16.

III. Church

· Several of our students and leaders are involved in discipleship:

o D1: These folks are in our one-on-one discipleship material – T.J. C. is with Pat L. (Lesson #11), Chris F. is with Caleb L. (Lesson #15), Rosie G. is with Sherry W. (Lesson #5).
o D2 (classroom teaching that focuses on the Word and Work of ministry): Kelly T.
o HBI (our 4-year Bible Institute): Pam J. and Caleb L are taking classes in HBI.
o TJH (The Journey Home): Caleb G. is with Pat L. (Lesson #2), and Doug H. is with Kevin W. (Lesson #3) – see pic. Pam J. is with Kalee R. (Lesson #1)

Jeff W. completed TJH earlier this year and Julie S. completed TJH in April – see pic of Mary, Julie, and I. We’re very proud of these folks for their accomplishment and excited for how God is using them!

· Caleb Graham baptized on Easter (4-5) – see pic

· Megan W. started coming to our recovery group a few months ago and is becoming a member of HBF this month, PTL!
· Several of our students are visiting church and new guests are at meetings each week, PTL!

IV. Recovery

· We dropped off 2 cases of Bibles for Tommy M., the pastor of Recovery Church on 3-19
· A man from Edinburgh, Scotland reached out to me around the end of April to see if their magazine could publish one of the poems we have on our website, and of course I said that he could. The name of their quarterly magazine is “Lived Experience” and they want to put the poem “Addiction” reverse poetry poem in it to distribute in recovery café’s and drop in clinics (it’s about the fourth poem down on our website: LIFE ISSUES - An Addiction Recovery Ministry: POEMS). I can’t remember where I found the poem but am glad that people halfway around the world are looking at our website and using it for God’s glory to help others!

· Kevin W. began overseeing milestone tags in March 2026 – see pic of him and Chris F.

· We are saddened to communicate that we lost two former students in April 2026, Jeff A. and Tom G., both of these men were saved so we will see them again in glory, hallelujah!


V. Events

· We will be holding a leadership meeting at our house on May 16th.
· Compass Health Network will be hosting their 4th annual Cass County Project Connect event at Belton High School on Friday, June 26th, from 9am-3pm; we plan to have a booth at this event.
· Our church’s annual workday was March 21st and a few of our folks came out to help work at the church, attached is a pic of Chris F. staining the railing on our foot bridge!

· We rejoice that Dave Hill and our sister church / recovery group in Blue Springs helped Recovery Church (Tommy McGee), with an outreach to their community on April 11th, see pic.

VI. People

· One of the graduates from our program (Dana M.) got a job at an in-house treatment facility in Kansas and is working as a counselor to the patients who are admitted there! Dana works very hard there and still maintains a part time job at a restaurant to make ends meet!

· We took a group photo on March 20th – see pic.

· We took a separate pic of three of our superstars – Dana, Mary, and Julie.

· Pam Jackson will be graduating from HBI on May 31st @ 6pm, I hope we can all be there a celebrate this accomplishment with her! See attached pic of her speaking at our discipleship luncheon on March 14th.

· Cheryl's testimony... 

"I used drugs for over 40 years, off and on, till they finally caused me to commit a crime. I spent 4 months in jail, and there is where I asked God to enter and take over my life and he did, I could feel it, hallelujah!

I moved to Harrisonville from Kansas City KS to the domestic violence center, after my ex-husband beat me. I stayed with him because I had nowhere to go after jail. I got a job here and lived in a motel for a while and then met a pastor that turned out to be a big-time meth user and dealer. After relapsing with him I went back to jail, it was God's plan for me to get me away from him.

After release, I came back to Harrisonville and pastor Steve connected me with a women's house in Archie MO. My time there had its ups and downs, but that ministry house kept me drug free. I applied for an apartment and got one in Harrisonville. Through the grace of God I can pay my bills, go to church more, and volunteer for work at the church. This church (Heartland Baptist Fellowship) and pastor Steve have helped change my life for good, through the grace of God.

I would have been either OD or been beaten to death had I not come to Harrisonville. God has had many plans for me and they have all worked, Cheryl S."



VII. Praises and Prayer requests

· Praise and pray for our jail ministry to win souls and connect them to a Bible believing church.

· Please pray for our new discipleship students and TJH students to finish pathways.

· Please pray for God to use us mightily in the remainder of 2026, for without him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things!

 

Sincerely, Steve Fleshman – Life Issues pastor and founder, Proverbs 4:23…

Monthly Update - January & February 2026

Making a difference update, from the recovery field – January / February 2026 edition. Below are the highlights that happened in the Life Issues ministry over the last couple of months.


I. Benevolence

· Paid $200 towards a lady’s car repair on 1-12.

· Put up a homeless man for 1 night on 1-25 and put up a lady for 2 nights 1-26.

· Put gas in a lady's car on 1-31.

· One of our ladies moved to Harrisonville recently and we helped her get some pots and pans as well as a chest freezer.

· Helped fix a door so it could shut, on a leader’s house that was robbed of copper on 2-11.

· We worked with HBF to help a man pay his rent on 2-20.

· Helped a lady move a couch on 2-25.

· We have 3-4 gas cards during this time-period.



II. Jail / prison update

· Testimony from Ray Blowers, leader of our jail ministry: The Doors of Opportunity Blown Open – Welcome to the update for Prisoner of Hope (POH) Jail Ministry at HBF.

"After a long, lingering sabbatical from ministering to the residents of the Cass County Jail, eight years to be exact. The doors to minister in the Cass County Jail were blown open and things started moving really quick. Pastor Steve Fleshman and Ray Blowers met with the Cass County Sheriff Jail Supervisor about coming back to minister in the jail right before Thanksgiving 2025. Out of the meeting came a start date of 1/11/2026 for our POH Ministry team to be established, trained and ready to go in less than 6 weeks.

Pastor Steve and Ray went into recruiting mode, lots of phone calls and text messages were coordinated to make sure we were not duplicating our efforts. The team was assembled, background checks were submitted, and a training session all happened through the craziness of the holiday season. The initial team of 6 men and 4 women answered the call.

We see about 5-7 inmates every Sunday on average, divided by gender and pod groups for two hours. Men minister to men, ladies minister to ladies. There are 3 pods for men and 3 pods for the ladies. We have casual conversation and fellowship, we go through prayer requests, one from the ministry team does a devotion to help prep the hearts, then the other team member presents a prepared message that is scheduled. Lots of needs and prayers are required. Please pray for this ministry. Please pray for the residents of the Cass County Jail. Please pray for more laborers. Luke 10:2 "



III. Church

· Several of our students and leaders are involved in discipleship:

o D1: These folks are in our one-on-one discipleship material – T.J. C. is with Pat L. (Lesson #9), Joel W. is with Steve F. (lesson #5), Chris F. is with Caleb L. (Lesson #14), and Sara S. is with Brianna B. (Lesson #1), Rosie G. is with Sherry W. (Lesson #3),

o D2 (classroom teaching that focuses on the Word and Work of ministry): Kelly T.

o HBI (our 4-year Bible Institute): Pam J., Caleb L, and Mary W. are taking classes in HBI.

o TJH (The Journey Home): Jeff W. with Pat L. (Lesson #9), Julie S. is with Dana M. (Lesson #8) – see pic, Caleb G. is with Pat L. (Lesson #1).

· Several of our students are visiting church and new guests are at meetings each week, PTL!

· I’m adding some pics of folks to this email, who had some sobriety milestones recently!

IV. Recovery

· We received a letter from a lady in behavioral management center, requesting a Bible. One of our ladies took her a Bible and a note of encouragement, let’s pray that the social worker will let her have those things and that will have more input on this precious soul.

· We emailed a copy of The Journey Home (TJH) to a father / son in Colorado on 2-6, as a tool for dad to work through with son for recovery!

· One of our men completed SATOP in February and is getting his license back soon, then hopefully a vehicle; I’m thankful to see progress in his life!

· We’re working with a couple of ladies right now, trying to get them into a treatment facility.

· We printed 20 copies of TJH on 2-20 and are thankful to see them getting used!

· Yesterday (3-13) marked 1 year since Maple City Baptist church started their recovery group in Monmouth Illinois. Their recovery director let me know that “God is using us to break down walls of brass and iron in the lives of people, saved and unsaved. The crooked are becoming straight and whole – Is. 45:2”



V. Events

· I officiated a Funeral for one of our former students, Michael B. on 1-17.

· Our friend, Rick, died on 3-11, Angie and I got to visit and pray with him on 2-28 before he passed; funeral arrangement will be forthcoming.

· We took a group of 4 to Creighton Baptist Church to hear good testimony on 2-7

· Our rotation at the Shepherd’s Staff – Food Pantry, will be March 27th if you want to help?!

· We will be holding a leadership meeting at our house on May 2nd.

· Compass Health Network will be hosting their 4th annual Cass County Project Connect event at Belton High School on Friday, June 26th, from 9am-3pm; we plan to have a booth at this event.



VI. People

· We had a couple of guest speakers in February, Dale and Richard – see pics.

· Caleb G. prayed to be saved on 2-23 - Pic!

· One of our former students is now married and they own / operate a Mexican restaurant in Garden City, Angie and I ate there recently and got a pic with Amber, happy for her / them!

- Nate M. got a good job working from home on 3-9, PTL!

· One of our folks gets out of prison in April.

· Today’s my spiritual birthday – I got saved 34 years ago today!



VII. Praises and Prayer requests

· Praise and pray for our jail ministry to win souls and connect them to a Bible believing church.

· Please pray for our new discipleship students and TJH students to finish pathways.

· Please pray for God to use us mightily in the remainder of 2026, for without him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things!

Sincerely, Steve Fleshman – Life Issues pastor and founder, Proverbs 4:23…