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The Metanoia Minute
Monthly Prayer Requests and Ministry Updates January 2018

In This Issue
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Dear Friend,
  
You are receiving this e-mail because at some time in the past seven years, you asked to be added to our prayer e-newsletter. Thank you for praying for us!

Happy New Year to you! 2017 was an exciting year at Metanoia Ministries, and we are eager to see what God will do with us in 2018!

A couple of highlights from last year:

*We added Rev. Tim McCracken to our staff as the Regional Director San Joachin Valley, CA.

*We added Rev. John Theoharis as our Director of Strategy and Development.

*We added Mr. Mike Peeples, Mr. Rodger Jenkins and Ms. Susan Richardson to our Board of Directors.

We ask that you pray for each of these people as they serve God in the area of ministry to prisoners.
January Travel Schedule 
  • No Trips Scheduled. I will be driving between Chattanooga and Atlanta at least two times in January, so I would appreciate prayers for travel mercies.
January Update & Praise  
  • Many of you know that I was ill for nearly two full months, fighting respiratory infection and pneumonia. Praise be to God for His healing mercies!
  • We ended 2017 with nearly 550 active students engaged in our correspondence ministry, and about 150 active mentees in our mentoring ministries. We are thankful to be able to serve so many men and women for the glory of Christ.
  • We are thankful for qualified men who desire to teach the seminary classes at Walker State Prison in Rock Spring, GA. God is training up future leaders on the inside!
  • We thank God for the financial support we received in 2017, which exceeded 2016!
January Prayer Requests  
  • Shelly is reaching out to every prison in the United States to try and enlist new students. Please pray for these efforts.
  • Please continue to pray for the seminary at Walker State Prison. We are now in our third course and are planning courses 4 and 5.
  • Please pray for Shelly as she keeps up the daily work of maintaining the correspondence ministry. 
  • Please pray for Rev. Randy Jackson and the expansion of the mentoring ministry into the State of Georgia. Once again we were told by a high-level Corrections Official that this is the most important component of the faith and character model. Pray that God will raise up the laborers.
  • Please pray for Rev. Tim McCracken and the work he is doing in California. Please also pray for his support-raising efforts. Also pray for his work in bringing mentoring to a prison there.
  • Please pray for John Theoharis' work in two prisons in GA.
  • Please pray that God will bring us some new financial investors. As our ministry grows, the need for additional partners also grows.

  • Please pray for wisdom and vision for myself and for our board of directors.
Watch our Videos or Listen to Interviews
MNA-Metanoia Prison Ministries has been blessed with some videos that were produced by Genesis One Productions, with the help of Christ Covenant Church. Andy Caldwell directed, shot and edited the videos, and I think he did a fantastic job. You can watch the videos here:  Metanoia Video and  Metanoia Video 2 . Please let me know what you think. Also, please visit Ligonier.org and watch another video here:  http://www.ligonier.org/blog/metanoia-prison-ministries/

If you would like to listen to an interview by Dan Frye of A Rebel's Cause Radio, you can watch or listen here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSVVOxtDyQM

If you are interested in listening to the radio interview with Pastor Kevin Boling of Knowing the Truth, you can hear it here:   http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=31312142251
If you are interested in listening to the podcast interview with William Hill of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary's Confessing our Hope podcast, it can be heard here:  http://www.gpts.edu/podcast/Broadcast7_(Casson).mp3

In 2017 I was interviewed by Eric Nevins, who hosts the podcast, "Halfway There". You can listen to his interview here: http://ericnevins.com/podcast/halfwaythere/037/
Upcoming Events: Mark Your Calendar!

I thought it might be good for you to be aware of various events that we are scheduling so that you can both pray for us, and attend if you find yourself in the area. Here are the events on the calendar thus far:
  • March 9-10: MNA's Mercy Conference in College Park, MD.
Mark, Eliana, Raylene & Joelle
About The Casson Family   
Mark Casson   is a husband, father, businessman, author and PCA Ruling Elder who also happens to have spent over 15 years serving a life sentence in California's prison system. He is the Director of Metanoia Prison Ministries and the Director of Prison Ministry for Mission to North America. Mark is a sought-after speaker who has taken the gospel of grace to high schools, college campuses, prisons and churches. He has a passion for mercy ministry to prisoners that is infectious.

His beautiful wife, Raylene has been a school teacher for more than 20 years and has taught in Bolivia, Canada, and the U.S. in both Christian and public schools. Raylene currently works as a first grade teacher in the Hamilton County School District in Chattanooga, TN.

They have two precious daughters. Eliana is 8 years old and has played in CA, NY, FL, MT, UT, OR, ID, NV, AZ, NM, TX, OK., TN, SC, HI, WI, GA, SD, WY, AL and MN. She loves her little sister, Joelle, who is 5. Their daddy calls them his beloved rapscallions.