The path on which God leads us is not always a direct one. We have certainly experienced this and grown from it – which is why the path isn’t always linear. God knows the path isn’t always tied to the mission but to our growth which IS necessary for the mission. 

It was December 2019 when we first visited the property under consideration for the next phase in our ministry that God put on our hearts. The property that God is leading us to will house the recently released men that we had discipled inside the prison system who stepped into leadership positions with the Disciple Making Movement (DMM). 

This property has been the one to which all other properties have been compared since. This property and this next phase for the men we serve has been almost four years in the making.

The moment Tony and I first stepped into the prison system for our ministry work on September 22, 2018, we felt God leading us to walk alongside men upon their release. Tony’s past experiences with transitional housing helped shape the vision God put on Tony’s heart. He saw that God wasn’t first in how these houses are run and having a deeper personal relationship with God is what is most important in teaching these men how to walk in true freedom. 

We are teaching these men that their purpose in life isn’t a job, a career, getting back with their family, or staying sober. Their purpose – as is everyone’s purpose – is to share what Jesus has done for them, to be a disciple who disciples others and leading those who don’t Christ to Him.

Our intentions have never been to be a transitional house but rather to offer a retreat-like setting where men can come to continue their walk with God upon release. We want to provide a buffer between walking out the door of the prison system and re-integrating into the world.  

Recently released men need to have a place of refuge where they can live and can mature in their walk with God without the noise, distractions, and pressures of the outside world.

What God has led us to do in our ministry has been the hardest thing – especially with men coming to actually LIVE with us –  I have ever done! My perception of what I think things look like constantly changes. No surprise there, right? 

How we see things and how God sees things are two distinctly different things entirely. As the saying goes, when we make plans God laughs. It has been a learning experience – and a worthwhile one – that we can make plans but God is the one who makes the decisions.

While we waited on God to lead us to the right piece of property, God allowed us to experience what it’s like for the men we brought home to actually live with us. We learned during this initial experience that these men weren’t the right fit because they were not willing to rest, trust, and let God lead. Our hearts want to help everyone but not everyone is a candidate for the next phase of this ministry at Freedom Lake. 

That’s not to say we didn’t have a small “false start” in the process.

We had purchased property we believed God had led us to in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, back in 2021. We did this – in part – because we were tired of seeing men fall away from God and getting caught up in the ways of the world upon release. We didn’t feel we got ahead of God with this property, instead, He was leading us down a path that would actually help us see things before he led us to the property He had already chosen.

However, this is where God knew Tony and I needed to grow and be sure not of the property to be selected but to be sure of the men we selected to be part of Freedom Lake. During this process it became clear to us that two of the three men that were scheduled to live at the Portland house weren’t as ready as we had hoped for what Freedom Lake could offer them as free men. 

How did we know? 

We brought them to our home while construction was being completed on the house. God soon revealed that two of the men were not a good fit for Freedom Lake. These men hungered to be in the free world doing the same things they had done in the past and they wanted everything to be on their terms. 

They were not willing to wait for God to lead that decision. This led us to rethink putting three men in a small house located in a rough neighborhood surrounded by drugs.

Tony felt from the beginning that the Portland house wasn’t the vision God put on his heart, but again, we were tired of men falling away from their relationship with God so we gave it a try. 

In the spirit of transparency, I felt I pushed that envelope. I am a work in progress as I, too, am learning to lean on God in every aspect of my life. I, too, get caught up in how the world does things versus how God does things.

But God is faithful. He has shown us time and again that with each step we took in faith He revealed lessons that have helped shape HIS ministry plans and the vision HE put on Tony’s heart long ago while he was incarcerated.

The good news is that one of the men is still with us today and he has been a good example to the other men at the facility of what living for Christ looks like for someone who is like them. 

We have had several men come to the Discipleship House upon release who did not stay long and it was largely for the same reasons, including a hunger for worldly ways, worldly possessions, and worldly wisdom. We have felt the presence of the Enemy many times when we had the wrong men living here in our home. Sadly some only lasted a few days.

But God has blessed us with three men – whom HE selected – who are a good fit and are truly ready to trust HIS leading and have allowed Tony and me to help them in this new journey of living life on mission to serve God and to serve others; to be a disciple who makes disciples whether they are called to be a full-time missionary or as a plumber in Cleveland (as Tony would say). 

We are all called to be on mission but, unfortunately, the ways of the world pull these men away – especially when they are first released – and many let “those” worldly ways get them off track of seeking God first in all that they do. 

Following God is an area of strength for Tony as he does this very WELL! He refuses to let the world lead him. Tony lets God lead. Every day. 

Following God can sometimes be frustrating for me because I struggle with not being in control or not knowing what the plan is. BUT I am learning because the path God has me walking is one to grow me so that I will trust and obey Him more. 

Because of my sometimes struggles, it is easy for me to understand and empathize with how challenging following God is for these men who don’t know Him as well as they will. In the meantime, it’s tough for the men but they are learning and they are growing. 

We all are growing in our walk with God because of that example set by Tony. Tony is not perfect – none of us are – but he leans into God in every decision he has to make. Every time.

I am a work in progress toward this obedience to Christ and every day I grow stronger in my walk. I watch the men grow stronger in their walk and we are growing in our individual walks together in a community of people who are dedicated to seeking God first in every aspect of our lives.

When we give something to God, it feels wonderful because we are essentially giving the burden, worries, and cares of that thing over to Him. When we give things over to God we are reminded that He can handle all things we can’t AND we can handle all things when we lean into Him and obey Him, relying on the Lord and not ourselves.

We’ve been excited that God has led us to these properties even though God has not given us the “green light” on acquiring property because we now know we are in a season of preparation. God has changed our perspective in looking at these properties. 

Until recently, we’ve tried making a fit rather than finding a fit. There are times when we serve God that we can be on the right path but the timing to take action is not right (according to God’s timing, not our own). 

Circumstances that have God’s fingerprints all over them have led us back to the first property we’ve been comparing all others since but now, it seems as though God is leading us back to this property. The timing is right because God has given Tony and me this season of preparation and growth. It’s not that the property is ready for us; it’s that we’re ready for the property. 

How do we know that God’s fingerprints are all over this? 

While in my morning prayer time I suddenly felt compelled to draw something that God was putting on my heart. I jotted a short paragraph at the top of the large piece of paper that included – 200 acres – 50 rooms – able to serve 300 people. I then drew a lake and a square for a house. 

While I was in the middle of my God-driven doodling, Tony called me from another area of the house and asked what I was doing. I told him I was drawing what God was putting on my heart for the Freedom Lake property. 

When Tony came downstairs and looked at my drawing he said, “I was just praying over that property and you are drawing it!” When Tony looked at the drawing he realized that is exactly the property God was putting on his heart. It was the first piece of property we looked at!!

Tony and I took this as a very strong hint that God was telling us to reach out and look at the property once more. We made another trip to look at the property. We were immediately reminded that this place is a fit for what we want to do with the Freedom Lake ministry and the men to who we want to provide refuge.

We were also able to engage with the property owner (who had not been available on our previous visits) who is interested in selling the property to Freedom Lake. He is a believer who loves the vision God put on our hearts, should God make a way for our ministry to purchase it.

Shortly after we left the property, the owner’s friend who showed us the property that day sent the owner a picture following our meeting of a double rainbow that appeared over the lake. He sent it to us and under it, he wrote, “God giving His blessing on this property.” 

Then God led me to scripture just a few short days later. In Genesis 9, it says “God sealed His promise with a rainbow in the sky”.

Even though we are excited about this property, God will make it clear to us so there can be no doubt nor misunderstanding. God is in control and if this is the property of HIS choosing, then He’ll make the Way to Freedom Lake. 

In the final analysis, what we do is about what God wants and we know – whether it’s this property or not – that He will provide.