I. Benevolence
· We paid for replacing a window in a lady’s car on 7-26
· We paid a gas bill for a lady on 8-17
· We paid for a train ticket for a man on 9-12
· We paid to have repair work done on a lady’s car on 9-15
· Pam made up 6 more boxes of food on 9-16, for distribution
II. Jail / prison / Court update
· One of our students was arrested recently, due to a new charge, please pray for him.
· I went to court with a man and his father last week, and it went well but has to see a circuit judge next week for 2 charges, prayers for him please.
· Ted is out of prison now and into a sober living house – see pic.
· 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!
III. Church
· Several of our students and leaders are involved in discipleship:
o D1: These folks are in our one-on-one discipleship material – Chris F. is with Caleb L. (Lesson #16), Rosie G. is with Sherry W. (Lesson #5), Jenny G. is with Pam J. (Lesson #3).
o D2 (classroom teaching that focuses on the Word and Work of Ministry): TJ C. and Julie S. are starting later this month.
o HBI (our 4-year Bible Institute): Caleb L is taking classes in HBI.
o TJH (The Journey Home): Jason R. is with Steve F. (Lesson #2)
· Kelly Talley finished D2 in June 2026; Pat Lee finished D1 with TJ C. on 9-1, PTL!
· Mary W. finished D1 with Julie S. in mid-August and Julie is now in our “How to Disciple” class!
· Kevin W. finished TJH with Doug on 9-4!
IV. Recovery
· We mailed Bibles to a lady in the VA hospital, who’s going through their program, in early September (she wanted one for her self and others to give away, so we sent 4).
· Jacob phased up on 9-2 in the Salvation Army ARC program – see pic.
· We provided community service for a lady needing hours (16) recently.
· We’ve had several folks with significant milestones recently; one is Telli - 5 years clean, another is Dana – 2 years clean (not pictured). We also have Les – 7 months, Nina – 40 days, Jason – 40 days, and Doug – 7 months – see pic.
· I helped Derek M. get into a sober living house this week, and have him lined up to get a ride to church in Blue Springs, MO – see pic.
· We are saddened to communicate that Rosie Griffith lost her husband, Jimmie, on 8-3. Jimmie came to Life Issues faithfully until a couple of years ago, and he will be missed dearly!
V. Events
· Life Issues hosted our 14th annual Homecoming fundraiser on September 4th, and we raised $16,132.35 (our most ever) to help the addicted in 2027!
o In addition to many individual donations, our funding came from about 55 businesses that I and about 15 other leaders and students solicited pledges from. See www.lifeissuesonline.org to see a list of sponsors.
o We focused on jail ministry this year and Lieutenant Sutcliffe was our keynote speaker, see pic of him and I. Ray B. gave us a good message / update about our POH team and about half of our folks were present!
o We had about 80 people present that night (our most ever – see pic), including leaders, students, and guests! Pat Lee gave a good conclusion to the night as he shared his own testimony and tied it in with the prodigal son (Luke 15) and our Life Issues story!
o Julie S. and Chris F. were my volunteers of the year, and both received our “Compassion” award – see pic.
o It was a great night; we had 5 booths, Sonic donated the food, everyone liked our tee-shirts, and Jim Stovall created a touching 10-minute video of people connected to our ministry who have died, that I wanted to share: Life Issues Memorial Video
o Angie and I want to thank all our sponsors; we also appreciate all the volunteers who made this Homecoming special, sincerely, Steve…
· HBF is wrapping up its annual Bible Conference tomorrow, it’s been good to see some of our folks present!
VI. People
· We’ve had a couple of people make professions of faith (that I know of) recently, so we praise the Lord (PTL) for that! We also have people almost every week who ask Christ into their life, from our jail ministry (Prisoner’s Of Hope) POH!
· Sarah W. has been helping with work at the church, here’s a pic of her pulling weeds.
· Julie’s grandson, Karter, helped me for a week before he went back to school – see pic.
· Jason R. letter / testimony…
"Meth, I hate you; you are just a push over, you ruin everything! You ruined my relationship with my Jesus, my family, my friends, and my church family! I’m tired; you just make everything awful. I don’t want you in my life!
I was doing so good; I had money in the bank; I had a cool place to stay. I was going to church and bought a car that could get me around. I was happy, then at the end of 2025, you came again. You and the devil whispered, “it’s alright to get high, no one will know”. I tried so hard to ignore you both, but you kept on until I started again.
I thought I was having fun until I wasn’t; I now have court trouble, my hands hurt, and so many things are going on because of you both. I hate you both! You both suck and I don’t want to be associated with either of you! I want my life back!
I’m glad that I’m doing what I need to do now, it’s time for myself. Meth and Devil; I’ve got Jesus and friends that love me and have always been there for me, and they are going to help me get better. So, both of you can kiss my little white butt!
Heartland, please help me get back on track with my life and away from that crap. I love you family and thanks for loving me, Jason… "
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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