The YPM Connector

June 2, 2025

Dear Subscriber First Name,

Register Early for the YPM 2025 Annual Conference  

Our theme this September 26 and 27 will be Back to Basics: Back to The Bible. We will all receive “Basic Training,” along with our new volunteers, in the why and how of YPM ministry with a focus on how to use the Bible effectively in small groups. Staff and experienced Yokefellows will lead us through our newly-revised Volunteer Handbook.

 Our guest speakers and their topics will be:

• John Knight, Bright Side Baptist pastor: “Responding as a family member and a pastor to inmates and returned citizens.”

• Warner Batty: “What I learned while walking with the Lord for most of 50 years in prison.”

• Darren Johson: “From prison to a Doctor of Ministry degree.”

• Timothy White: “From receiving rescue to providing rescue.”

• Chaplain Michael Irvin: “How God led me into and guides me in prison ministry.”

The conference will be held at Bright Side Baptist Church, 515 Hershey Ave., Lancaster.

Due to meeting at our partner church, our conference costs are significantly lower this year. Last year the full conference package for a two-day registration and two meals was $105 per person. This year the cost is $65 per person — almost a 40% reduction. The cost for lodging will depend on where you choose to stay.

FOR INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER:

Go to: ypmpa.org/registration

NEWS BRIEFS

Westmoreland County Prison Gives YPM Book to Those in Solitary Confinement

Acting on a request from Chaplain Nick Borgfeldt at Westmoreland County Prison, YPM volunteers led by Sue Wiseman are providing 50 copies of Get Free and Stay Free: Stories of Inmates Who Found Freedom Inside and Out, for inmates entering administrative segregation (solitary confinement). The hope is that these YPM stories of people who yoked themselves to Christ and experienced salvation and changed lives will be an encouragement and inspiration during difficult days. You can provide books through the chaplain in the institution where you serve. Simply contact Executive Director Sean Atkinson with your idea for using this YPM resource.

Four Ways To Support YPM

As we approach our 2025 Annual Conference, we would like to remind Yokefellows and others who believe in our mission of ways to support YPM.  

1. Scholarship assistance for returning citizens. Help us support returning citizens by awarding them with full or partial scholarship assistance to attend the Annual Conference.

2. Books for Inmates. Help us distribute copies of Get Free and Stay Free books to inmates and returning citizens ($7/book).

3. Meeting at the Door is a program in which volunteers meet newly-released returned citizens who don't have family members or friends to pick them up. YPM provides a meal, assists them with getting personal items and transports them to the facility/home where they will be staying.

4. Support our Annual Conference. Consider making a gift to help offset expenses that may not be covered by registration revenue.

   TO DONATE TO YPM:

   Go to ypmpa.org/donate and select the specific fund you would like to support.

   Thank you!

From our Executive Director, Sean Atkinson

Hitting My Knees in Appreciation

Have you ever tried to write something only to repeatedly crumple the paper into a ball and throw it in the trash can? That is what is happening as I write this, only instead of crumpling paper, I am deleting and starting over. 

No matter the direction I try to go, I keep being drawn back to the word “praise.” I have a question…

How often do we praise God for the things He gives rather than who He is? If we are being completely honest – myself included – it’s true that in seasons of abundance we have no problem lifting up praise to God. But in those times of struggle, those times of suffering and confusion, we may have a tough time singing those same praises.

We need to remember that God doesn’t owe us anything. He doesn’t owe us good health, a great job or a perfect family. He blesses us because of His grace and mercy. And that is why we should praise Him. The very air we breathe is a blessing, that He has allowed us to wake up this morning and that we get to experience a new day is a blessing in itself.

One of the most powerful examples in scripture where everything that could go wrong did go wrong and yet the person still praised God is Job. His family, his health, his home and possessions were lost. But still he praised Him!

Job 1:20-21: “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

We know, like Job knew, that life will bring trials. We are told as much in scripture But we must continue to praise, even in the midst of storms or dry seasons. We praise — not only for what He is doing and what He has done – but also because of who He is.

I am excited to share with you that as of the writing of this article, I am living without the “life vest" and that I am out of the “danger zone” with my ejection fraction. The cardiologist's words were, “You have made a phenomenal recovery thus far.” And make no mistake, I am as happy as one can be, and I‘ve hit my knees daily in appreciation. But “even if” then becomes a hard question for every one of us…even if I had not received such a wonderful report, or even if I am without a dime to my name, or even if I am in constant pain, will I praise?

Sean Atkinson

Keep Us Posted

Please keep us up to date if your contact information (email, phone number, address) has changed. This helps us keep you informed on what’s happening in YPM.

Simply notify your Area Council or your Regional Director. Thank you!

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Thank you for your continued support! 

Sean Atkinson, Executive Director 

Dave Lewis, Chair of the Board