Beauty For Ashes Ministry
. . .to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. . . Beauty for Ashes Ministry is its own 501 (c) 3 outreach ministry. Our vision is to see a dramatic change in recidivism and homelessness as a result of going through the Oaks of Righteousness class along with continued discipleship. Our calling is to get Oaks of Righteousness into prisons and homeless programs across the US. We are also developing a discipleship program as part of re-entry for those coming out of prison and homelessness.
Oaks of Righteousness is an inner healing and discipleship ministry designed to minister healing to people that suffer from various forms of abuse, oppressive spiritual strongholds, addictions, or difficulty in trusting and engaging in relationships. The ultimate goal in the class is to bring people to a greater revelation of God as their Father. With this revelation comes the ability to break addictions, break spiritual bondage, restore identity, break insecurities, and grow in relationship with peers, authority figures, and God.
Beauty for Ashes ministry is more than just the Oaks of Righteousness class. We believe that in order to earn the right to bring truth through offering this class that we must take time to build relationships with those that we serve. In our homeless ministry we accomplish this through weekly prayer groups at Hope Faith Ministries (a day shelter for the homeless in Kansas City) and quarterly outreach events. At the outreaches we serve high quality meals and fill the day with testimony and positive entertainment. We also provide prayer teams for anyone needing prayer throughout the event. In our prison ministry, we work with Prison Fellowship's Innerchange Freedom Initiative to build relationships through monthly worship services, mentoring, and teaching.
Our ministry is also for our volunteers. We see ourselves as an equipping ministry for our volunteers to grow in their spiritual gifts and God given talents. We provide opportunities for preaching, teaching, prayer, fellowship, worship, leadership growth and service. Many volunteers have testified that they experience healing and spiritual growth when they serve the homeless and incarcerated. We believe the reason that God has called us to serve the "least of these" because it is there that we find ourselves.
Beauty For Ashes Ministry Testimonies
Quotes from Prison Oaks 2010:
“Since this class I have seen so many different situations in a different light that I have never seen before. It has given me more strength and comfort in God’s word also to others as well.”
“The Holy Spirit exposed some things to me that I didn’t even know affected me as it did.”
“After taking Oaks, I feel closer to God than I have in a very long time.”
“This class has allowed me to recognize and begin to overcome fears that I have, that I did not know existed. It has also made me more empathetic toward those in this class knowing of all the turmoil they have endured.”
“The blessing seat was an amazing experience!! (Not to mention extremely accurate).”
“I have been through so many things in my life, so many programs that only scratched the surface, Oaks is different because it helps to heal the brokenness.”
“God sent this ministry for me to open my eyes and my heart to the truth.”
“Oaks impacted my life in many ways, you guys blessed my life and now I am blessing others with your teaching.”
"WOW doesn't even begin to describe how awesome Sunday was. The Holy Spirit really showed up and changed a lot of hearts in there...mostly mine."
Mission: “ To bring truth, hope and love to the self-imprisoned, so they may find a true freedom.”
"We were there to minister to the guests but I was the one who was ministered to. We have an awesome God. He puts things together in what we think are impossible situations."
"There were three of us praying over a man that was struggling with some things that I could relate to. My heart litterally broke and was weeping for this man. When we were done praying for him, he began praying for us. I about colapsed at that point."
"I am free in ways that I never felt possible. Oaks is a renewal to my spirit, water to my soul. I needed this right now at this very point in my life."
"Ministry took me back to my childhood when Satan got some definite strong-holds in my life...I have had a spiritual break through because of this ministry. It is a spiritual marker in my life. "
Beauty for Ashes Ministry's website
We minister healing to people suffering from various forms of abuse, oppressive spiritual strongholds, addictions, or difficulty in trusting and engaging in relationships.
Gary and Carla Heese of Vineyard Church and a network of The leaders of Oaks of Righteousness Ministry who have been trained to share the teaching and ministry methods that have helped them in their personal lives and relationships. We invite you to join us.
The ultimate goal in the class is to bring people to a greater revelation of God as their Father. With this revelation comes the ability to break addictions, break spiritual bondage, restore identity, break insecurities, and grow in relationship with peers, authority figures, and God. We offer classes that focus on specific areas to reach this goal. Introduction to Oaks
In 1988, Gary and Carla Heese felt impressed to work in missions and joined Youth With a Mission (YWAM). They began working in discipleship schools in Kona, Hawaii. During that time, Gary noticed the need for healing in some of the young people attending the schools. They felt called to minister to those who were struggling with the wounds of their past. . .continued
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For more information call Connie at Vineyard Church: (816) 734-8100 or Email: cmueller@vineyardkcnorth.com