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The Metanoia Minute
Monthly Prayer Requests and Ministry Updates October 2018

In This Issue
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Dear Friend,

Prayer is the work of the ministry. We believe that all that we do should begin with prayer and flow out from prayer. We are very thankful for your continued prayers for our work in the prisons.

Many of you will remember one year ago that I asked you to pray for Tim Busch. Tim was a lifer who was being released and who was my cell-mate for the last nine years of my incarceration.

An entire year has passed since Tim was released and I want to report that he is doing magnificently! He is a member of a PCA church in Fresno. He married his long-time fiance, and he is working a couple of jobs. 

Thank you for praying for Tim, and for men like him. Tim served 28 years in prison and I have been amazed at how quickly he has transitioned into "normal" life out here. Christ is being glorified through Tim and men and women like Tim. We are thankful to be able to minister to them, for the glory of Christ and the advancement of His kingdom!
October Travel Schedule 
  • 6-9: Orlando, FL: Family getaway!
  • 10: Atlanta, GA: MNA Senior Staff Meeting
  • 21: Lookout Mountain, GA: Ministry Presentation at Lookout Mountain PCA
October Update & Praise  
  • We have trained 78 mentors for the work at Perry Correctional in Pelzer, SC!
  • We have trained 13 total mentors so far this year! Join us in praising God for raising up so many men.
  • God has blessed us with another intern from Covenant College, for which we give thanks.
  • Student enrollment in Metanoia's Correspondence Courses is slowly increasing. We are thankful for these new students who want to study God's Word.
  • Praise God for opening the doors at Phillips State Prison in Duluth, GA. Metanoia has seen the first mentors go in on September 17!
October Prayer Requests  
  • Please pray that God will continue to raise up financial investors who want to invest in what God is doing in the prisons.
  • Please pray for John Theoharis, who will be overseeing the mentoring work at Phillips. 
  • Please pray for Rev. Randy Jackson. In addition to the mentoring ministry at Hays State Prison, he is working towards launching some reintegration partnerships with the State of Georgia Parole Region in NW Georgia. AND, he is teaching one of the classes for seminary at Walker State Prison.
  • Please pray for Shelly as she continues to see more and more students wanting to study with Metanoia.
  • Please pray for our new part-time employee, Steven, as he takes over the administration of all mentor ministries. 
  • Please pray for Rev. Tim McCracken and the work he is doing in the prisons in CA. Especially pray for clearance for some of the people he has recruited to serve with him.
  • Please pray for Anthony Rogers, our Regional Representative in SC. Anthony is sitting for Licensure and Ordination exams in the next 3 months.
  • Please ask God to raise up more mentors for each of our locations.
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:
  • September 15: Taylors, SC: Mentor Training for Perry Correctional
  • September 22-23: Greenville, SC: Mitchell Road PCA's Ministry Fair.
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 9 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 6. Their daddy calls them his beloved rapscallions.