Coffee Creek Baptist Church

Every Saturday night, about a dozen servants of God from Timberline Baptist Church hold a Bible preaching service at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women's prison in Wilsonville, OR. We affectionately refer to the weekly service as Coffee Creek Baptist Church. Of course, it's not an independent church. The Lord's Supper and baptisms take place under the authority of TBC. The ladies like having their own "church."

I got involved with this ministry the first Saturday after my family moved to Oregon. We like to warn prospective volunteers before they come to the service for the first time. The warning isn't about the danger of a riot or the possibility of a hostage situation. The warning is this: if you come, you'll be hooked. One visit to the service and you'll want to attend again and again.

I've heard of many churches that have prison ministries. I've never heard of one like this. A handful of volunteers started this ministry about 5 years ago. I think they started with less than 15 ladies in the first service. We now have over 100 ladies in attendance every week. The service is very exciting. The ladies are tremendously responsive to God's Word. Souls are saved every week. Many spend time in prayer during the invitation. The ladies greatly appreciate our willingness to come and hold the service. They love us and it's impossible not to love them back. There are people from every walk of life attending the services. The ages range from 18 to over 80. Pick a nationality and we have it.

When Saturday night comes around, I'm usually tired. The rest of the volunteers are as well. However, when we're done with the service, our hearts are always lifted. Please pray for the ladies at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. God is doing an unusual and powerful work in that place. It's awesome to be a part of it.