Global Outreach’s Local Teams make an Impac

By Julia Swan

Students bring hope to the hopeless through jail ministry

“We exist to bring hope to the hopeless,” said fourth-year M-Div student Owen Dorrity. “We want to engage in the Great Commission. The Lord tells us in Matthew 28 to go therefore and make disciples of all nations. And that’s just something we just want to see realized in every aspect of the world and in
our community.” 

This student-run mission involves sending students such as Dorrity to jails across the area to share the Gospel with those who may be facing decade-long sentences, offering them a sense of hope and redemption through rough circumstances. 

Dorrity came into college knowing that he wanted to engage in some kind of jail ministry but had no idea how it would work out attending school in such a rural area. 

“At the involvement fair my freshman year, the first table I saw was the jail ministry table, and if that wasn’t an open door, I don’t know what is,” Dorrity said. 

The jail ministry travels to Greene County Jail (Xenia), Clark County Jail (Springfield), and Clark County Juvenile Detention Center (Springfield). 

Each trip is its own unique experience. At Greene County Jail students can go into the facility and talk to guys face to face in small groups, whereas at Clark County Jail, according to Dorrity, it is “very similar to probably what you think of when you watch movies. It’s one person, phone and glass,” but is still a cool opportunity because it is more individualized. 

Clark County Juvenile Detention Center functions more as a youth group type gathering, as the leaders will play basketball or other games with the kids. 

To prepare, the organization hosts training sessions before the first visit at the beginning of the fall semester. 

“Even for Christians, sharing the Gospel can be scary and something that maybe they haven’t done before, so we just train them in that,” Dorrity said. 

Then, preparation for each student becomes more individualized. 

“Some weeks you may be going in and meeting with someone for the first time, so a lot of prayer goes into that,” Dorrity said. “Then as things get going, if you’re meeting with someone individually, you’re more thinking ‘What can I be thinking for next week or how can we take the next step in discipleship?’”

Dorrity shared that right now he is walking through the book of Ephesians with one guy at Clark County Jail, so he spends time working through the different passages and making sure he can explain the passage well and answer any questions that the man he is meeting with may have. 

The biggest way students can get involved currently is by praying for the students who are going. 

Dorrity emphasized the importance of prayer — for open doors, open minds and meaningful conversations.

“Right now, we’ve been blessed to have so many people want to get involved, so we’re unfortunately at full capacity and then some,” he said.

Dorrity encourages students to support their friends who are involved by praying for their efforts, asking how they can help, and staying engaged with the mission in their own circles. Even small acts of encouragement, he says, can make a lasting impact.

The Barn ministry brings youth to the Gospel through intentional discipleship

Every Friday, fourth year M-Div student Mickey Neal and a group of Cedarville students travel to the Barn Youth Center in Pleasant Hill, Ohio, to share the Gospel through intentional discipleship and fun games. 

“It’s a slow drip ministry,” Neal said. “So what that means is that we’re going to go there and there’s going to be about 20 to 30 high schoolers, some of them know Christ and some don’t. You’re going there every Friday, and you’re going into relationships with the kids and that’s gonna ultimately cultivate Gospel conversations.” 

Neal shared the importance of weekly attendance as a leader, as it helps grow trust with the students, which ultimately helps with creating opportunities for Gospel conversations. 

“A lot of times they’ve never read the Bible, so before they get there before they get to the point of trusting the Bible, they’re going to ask ‘Can I trust you?’” Neal said. 

Upon arrival, the leaders will have a brief time of prayer before the students get to the facility around 7 p.m. From there, they have about an hour and a half set aside for games before having devotional time for about 15-20 minutes. The night finishes with more free time for a little over an hour, which is where the kids can ask questions to the leaders and the leaders can continue building relationships. 

This free time designated for conversations is one of the most helpful times for building relationships, according to Neal. 

“Once they get there [trusting you], then you can start those conversations, and I think ultimately that’s going to be the purpose,” Neal said. “The end goal is that lives are saved, and they are growing in their relationship with the Lord.”

Neal got involved with the Barn’s middle school ministry in his sophomore year and began leading last year with the high school ministry after its previous leader left. 

This transition from middle to high school ministry has given him a unique perspective on how to engage with different
age groups.

While high schoolers often have a vast knowledge of the world around them, as compared to elementary or middle school kids, there are differences in speech and on how to keep their attention when sharing with them. 

“Your vernacular is going to be different,” Neal said. “You won’t be dumbing it down too much because they’re high schoolers, but it will be different. Keeping their attention is hard, because in our context with the Barn, there’s a ping pong table, you can go play pool, basketball, a skate park, so being able to keep their attention for 10 minutes can be a challenge.” 

Neal has found tactics such as the three circles method, the bridge method, or even art projects to be helpful tools to share the Gospel.

High schoolers also have complexities in relationship building as opposed to younger students or adults, which comes as a learning curve to the Cedarville students volunteering. 

“High school students are pretty blunt with you, and sometimes they’re just like ‘I don’t want to talk to you right now,’” Neal said. “They’re also just trying to figure out who they are, and sometimes they’ll just agree with you to get you off their back and then they’ll go and do their own thing.”

Despite this, Neal has found himself impressed with their curiosity and how that contributes to the leaders’ ability to ask them tough questions. 

“If you’re really close to the kid and you do it right, you can ask them super deep questions like, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ and you can have a really good conversation there and head in a Gospel direction,” Neal said. 

To prepare, the group holds an info meeting at the beginning of every fall semester, and from there students will be able to join the GroupMe and can come as often or as little as they want. However, Neal heavily encourages consistency. 

“You have to be consistent because if you miss a few meetings in a row, you’re negatively impacting your relationships with the students,” Neal said. “If you’re not going consistently, you’re probably not going to have an impact.” 

Neal also spoke about the impact of the ministry’s slow-drip approach. 

“I think it’s really effective because of the consistency,” Neal said. “You’re there every Friday, you’re gonna see the kids and they’re gonna see you. I think that’s a big strength because it’s not a pump and dump evangelism strategy. You’re not meeting a kid one time, sharing the Gospel, and then leaving. You’re actually able to pour into them, and they’re able to see that [the Gospel] lived out in you.”

Bringing the Gospel to the students of Wright State

Senior Jenna Cooper is often a bundle of nerves when she arrives at Wright State alongside fellow Cedarville students to share the Gospel. However, she understands that stepping out of her comfort zone is a crucial part of the mission, as the students work to evangelize to the students at Wright State. 

“[The purpose is] to evangelize specifically to reach the students of Wright State,” Cooper said. “There’s a lot of international students there, and so we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with people that might come from a country where Christians are persecuted, and so we’re able to share with people that can’t be reached by the Gospel.” 

Cooper became familiar with the ministry her freshman year through CU Outreach, a student organization on campus that educates students on how to share the Gospel with unbelievers.

“For the first two years that I did it, every single time I went, I would just be absolutely terrified, [about sharing the Gospel] but I just knew that it was important,” Cooper said. “And so I partially stepped up to lead in order to force myself to actually go, because I still find it terrifying, but I think it’s important.” 

To prepare, the students use Thursdays that they aren’t traveling to Wright State to engage in training sessions to better communicate the Gospel. They also plan community nights to help build camaraderie in the team. This includes hearing from one of the Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) leaders at Wright State for tips on connecting with the students at Wright State specifically. 

“Mike will come in and share about different tips for evangelism and how to approach people, and have it come across naturally,” Cooper said. “Trying to share with them, yes, but making sure they know that you’re actually genuinely caring about them as a person.”

Despite a growing number of Christians on campus due to organizations such as Cru, Cooper has experienced challenges sharing the Gospel with the students. 

“One challenge we face a lot is when people don’t believe in an absolute truth, so moral relativism,” Cooper said. “It’s so difficult to share the Gospel with someone that believes it could be true for you and not for me. I feel like a lot of the people feel like they are fine and they don’t need anything.” 

Because the students are not interacting with the same people week after week, it is often more about planting seeds than getting to see them grow and bloom. 

“Some of them have met Christians before, but they don’t have a lot of contact with people who are Christians and are actively living out their faith, and I think that’s important to show people,” Cooper said. 

As students gather to share their faith, they aren’t just spreading the message of the Gospel – they’re reinforcing it within themselves. 

“I think that sharing the Gospel really helps to remind you of the truth of the Gospel,” Cooper said. “And I think that it is helpful for encouraging and edifying the students that are out evangelizing, and it just helps to remind you of what’s really important.” 

If students are interested in getting involved this semester, they can reach out to Cooper, or talk to students at the ministry’s table at the involvement fair in the fall. 

Julia Swain is a junior journalism student and the off-campus news editor for Cedars. She enjoys concerts, coffee, and watching and analyzing any Cleveland sports team.