The YPM Connector

July 8, 2025

Dear Subscriber First Name,

Register Now for the YPM 2025 Annual Conference  

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: 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 Johnson: “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.

Click here for:

REGISTRATION

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

NEWS BRIEFS

YPM Has a New Treasurer

Many thanks to Ken Lewis who has served well and faithfully for the last year as our treasurer. Ken, however, has recently resigned for health reasons. The great news is that yokefellow Pat Antosy has taken the baton from Ken. Pat has previously been the YPM treasurer, as well as a volunteer and supporter. He is, in addition, a key leader at New Person Ministry where he is also the treasurer.

Pat brings deep financial and ministry experience to the YPM board who authorized him to serve as a voting board member on June 2, 2025, after his appointment as treasurer by YPM chairman David Lewis.

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

ANOTHER YEAR OF BLESSING

With the 4th of July just behind us, it brings to mind how fast the year is going. And in that same line of thinking, before you know it, the YPM annual conference will be upon us. It seems to come faster each year. I have been thinking about why it is that year after year the conference is such a blessing. 

We each have our reasons for attending the YPM annual conference and what we take from it each year. But there are a few things that we share that I believe make our time together so special. We do most of our ministry with a few volunteers at a time or perhaps by ourselves each week. And that is a beautiful thing, but at the conference we are surrounded by like-minded people, people who share the same calling and appreciation of that calling. Some have been serving for decades while others a short time. What an opportunity to learn or to get questions answered just by talking with someone who you otherwise may not see. 

It is a chance to be refreshed – refreshed in the Holy Spirit, celebrating what He is doing through us and for us by allowing us to serve. We sing praises and lift our hands as one ministry, one body and what an awesome feeling when we worship as a community. 

There have been countless speakers and powerful testimonies over the years that have left us at times in tears and other times simply in awe of God’s mercy. And that is the beauty of what we are celebrating together…it is not about us. It is about the merciful God that we serve. Inside a prison or out, He is asking us to be obedient, to be faithful and to do it joyfully. 

I also understand that for many of us we are creatures of habit and that we may prefer one venue over another, but I must admit that I am very excited about being at Bright Side Baptist Church this year! Whether at Country Cupboard or Camp Hebron or Williamsport, it has always been a blessed event. I honestly believe this year's conference will be no different. Change is good; it keeps us on our toes. But what remains a constant with the annual conference is that we will be blessed by gathering together, learning from our speakers and truly seeing God at work.

I am looking forward to seeing you all and looking forward to being a part of something special.

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