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.
· 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…
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