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 PRISON
MINISTRY IS "MOTIVATIONAL" (by Natasha Smith,
Hattiesburg American) - Oak Grove resident Tommy Stauter
had been involved with sports ministry for a while, but
the former high school baseball player's perception of
where he needed to minister changed in 2000.
"I had never heard of prison sports ministry until then," Stauter said.
Stauter visited a New Jersey-based program and decided to create a local
program. Now, Stauter is the director of
Mississippi Sports Reach, a prison sports ministry.
Through Sports Reach, Stauter visits prisons along with his team to play
basketball with prisoners. During half-time, members
form his organization share their faith and hand out
testimonies of professional athletes.
In March, Stauter plans to ride his bike along the Natchez Trace Parkway
to raise money for a Beijing mission trip and to launch
international missions.
Stauter's first encounter with sports ministry came in 1998 when Marcus
Robinson, a former pastor at Community Bible Church,
approached him about directing an Upward Basketball League
for boys and girls at the church. Stauter said that
Robinson showed him a video and he decided to do it.
During his first year with the Upward Basketball League, Stauter attended
a national conference where he heard the testimonies of
Upward President Caz McCaslin, and he knew he'd made the
right choice.
"At that moment, I knew that I was called to do this," he said.
But in 2000, Dale Glading, founder of The Saints Prison Ministry, changed
his direction.
In 2001, Stauter created Mississippi Sports Reach. Since its
inception, Stauter said they have ministered to
approximately 1,000 inmates, and at least 75 of the
participating inmates have become saved.
Troy Abuthnot, recreation director for the Wilkinson County Jail,
described Statuer as a giver who is looking for more
opportunity to interact with prisoners.
The program has benefited the inmates, who see the testimonies of others
as motviation that htey can overcome their obstacles,
Stauter said.
"It's a big morale booster for the inmates," Abuthnot said. "They
bug me about when are they going to play again."
One of Stauter's most memorable moments occurred when an inmate at a
correctional facility commented on the people involved in
the ministry.
"He walked up to the guy and said, 'You guys genuinely like us,'" Stauter
said. |
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