Owen Dorrity leads the Monday night team, while senior Molecular Biology major Rachel Cox leads the team for Thursday nights. Like Lykins, Dorrity came into Cedarville with a desire to pursue jail ministry. "I didn't know exactly what that would look like, but I was trusting the Lord to direct my paths, and the first table I saw at the Involvement Fair was the jail ministry table," Dorrity said. Yun got connected to the Jail Ministry Org through Dorrity, who sat next to him in their Introduction to Philosophy class. "He was telling me about it, and I was like, That's cool for you,"' Yun said . "I didn't really do anything, and then the next semester rolled around, and I realized I had too much free time ." Yun reached out to Dorrity and asked if he was still involved with the jail ministry. Shortly after, he joined the team going to the Greene County jail on Sunday mornings. Cox wants to pursue dentistry and wants to use her degree to do missions full time while working . She joined the Jail Ministry Org because of her passion for sharing her faith and evangelizing . "My freshman year, I volunteered at a children 's hospital but later found out I wasn't able to share my faith or speak about God," Cox said . "I had a friend who was involved in jail ministry, and I was able to start going into the jails my sophomore year." One of the biggest surprises for Cox going into jail ministry was the differences in backgrounds she experienced, not just between herself and inmates, but from one inmate to another. "You'll casually be mentioning, Paul said this, or talking about something Jesus said in the Gospels, and they won't know which books the Gospels are. Or they;[l be like, 'Who's Paul?"' Cox said. "But then you'll be speaking with another inmate, and they have a Master's of Divinity. There's a lot of variety in who you get to talk to." One thing Cox has found helpful in ministering to inmates is knowing the Bible well, especially knowing chapter and verse references rather than just the book a quote is from. Freshman Social Work major Joanna Herrlin was also involved in the Jail Ministry Org fall semester of 2022 and agrees that articulating the Gospel to people from various backgrounds and meeting them in the middle is important. Sometimes, it looks like having long, in-depth conversations. Other times, it might look like giving practical steps for growing closer to Christ. as his greatest gift to him outside of salvation," Dorrity said . "That's how the Lord called him back, and he's excited to go to prison because of the opportunities he has to share the Gospel with other inmates.That's one of the most mind blowing things." Herrlin has also been encouraged by the testimonies of the inmates she worked with during her time in jail ministry. She has experienced a lot of Cedarville University's Jail Ministry org at the Involvement Fair. "One of the inmates I spoke to has memory problems from an incident she was in, so she would read chapters at a time and have no idea what she read, " Herrlin said . "I suggested she get a notebook and write down specific things after every few verses she reads so she can go back later and reread those points." Across jail ministry experiences, a common theme referenced was personal spiritual growth. Although students went in with the mentality of ministering to inmates, many were surprised with how beneficial these interactions were for their own lives. "Especially at the beginning, I'd be nervous because I was going to offer encouragement to them, and I wanted to make sure I had the right words to say," Dorrity said . "But so often, I'll go and just be so encouraged by the faith of the person I'm talking to and where the Lord leads the conversation. It's so evident that it's in the Lord's hands ." Dorrity and Yun have been ministering to one of the inmates since the beginning of their time in jail ministry. "Recently, he got sentenced to 10 years in jail, but he sees his time in jail growth, particularly in her desire and ability to share the Gospel. "I'm a pastor's kid, so I've shared my testimony in front of the church . But before joining jail ministry, I hadn 't gone out into the community and explicitly shared the Gospel," Herrlin said . "As you keep doing it, it becomes easier, and I'm thankful for the experience jail ministry has given me, and I can appreciate the Lord so much more for how he transforms lives after hearing testimonies." Both inmates and students develop long-lasting connections that help them grow in their faith. "It kind of gets to the point where you actually consider them your friend," Lykins said . "You really look forward to going and talking to them and getting to know their story more. Sometimes, you just talk about the simplest things, but it just means so much for them to have someone to talk to, and it's nice just to have a friend too that has different life experiences." Esther Fultz is a junior Social Work major and the Off-Campus Editor for Cedars. She enjoys thrifting, writing music, hiking and hanging out with friends Spring 2023 Photographs provided by Owen Dorrity and Marissa Lykins I L-. / I
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