| Overcomer's
Discipleship Ministry |
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| We are a non-profit, volunteer-staffed organization dedicated to sharing the friendship of Jesus and helping people overcome addictions and spiritual bondage in order to become the people God designed them to be. We believe this is possible through faith in a personal relationship (friendship) with Jesus and biblical discipleship. | |||||||
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Our MissionOur mission, our
passion, is to share the friendship of Christ with others, encouraging
them to gain and nurture their
own friendship with Jesus, that they may find true fulfillment for
their lives. Our purpose is to be a freind and in so doing, sharing the
friendship
of Jesus. In the Gospel of John. Jesus calls His disciples His friends
(John 15:14-15). We believe that in the fellowship of godly friendships
we share the friendship of Jesus. The ministry primarily focuses on
inmates/ex-inmates and
those bound by addictions. We recognize that the "unlovable" cannot
become lovable until they are first loved. So our passion is to
befriend (love) those who may be unloved, rejected or forgotten. In so
doing, our hope is that our love will draw them to God's love so that
they may experience His healing transformation. We also believe that in
and through the power of Jesus this friendship and discipleship can be
the antidote to addictions, spiritual strongholds and negative
behaviors and will help them become the people God designed them to be.
We also believe that this is a biblical type of justice by
“overcoming
evil with good”. Top
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HistoryFriendship
Ministry was conceived and founded by Mel Everson in September, 1996
and incorporated by the Department of State, PA on September 11, 2009
(Including 501 (c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service). The
ministry began by sending Christmas cards to inmates and hosting
picnics for ex-inmates. Then in the summer of 2004, the ministry became
incorporated with New Hope Community Church and at that time two church
members became team members (Ed Bennett and Gretchen Jacobs). In 2007
Gretchen Jacobs moved, but God lead Angie Tyson-Allen to take her place
and has been doing so since that time. At the time of our incorporation
in 2009, more volunteers came forward to serve in various ways as well
as on our Board of Directors. Top
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As written in Mel Everson's testimony, "I knew I could not change the
past and how I hurt so many people, especially my family. But I knew
that I could make a difference...That gave me a passion to
not
only be committed to Jesus, but to serve Him as a way to do justice and
to fight the very evils that I once embraced." Therefore
this ministry
is dedicated to all of those who were hurt by Mel Everson's past life,
especially his oldest son, Chris. In
September 2006, at the ministry’s tenth anniversary
celebration, Mel
Everson dedicated the ministry to his oldest son, Chris. Having had to
overcome a lot of tragedies, trials and difficulties even at a young
age, Chris is a true overcomer. He inspires the passion for this
ministry and his life makes the difference in all of the lives we
minister to. We thank God for Chris, his inspiration, encouragement and
for how God continues to work in his life. The picture below was taken
at the dedication. Top
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