We are taught as children that being between things is not a good thing. In fact, we’re taught that the in-between is an uncomfortable place such as “being between a rock and a hard place”. However, as we have read accounts of Jesus’ ministry and the way God works, the “in-between place” is a place of separation for preparation. God does not use a switch to make things happen; He uses time and distance as a way to teach and train those He uses for the task or mission He has in mind for them.

And this time of separation for preparation is uncomfortable, as He intends it to be. It is when we are uncomfortable we learn the most valuable lessons and when we lean hardest into God. Comfort is the enemy of growth and the enemy of obedience.

As we discussed last month, Jesus recruited 12 ordinary men to become His disciples and spread the gospel. He did this by separation and preparation, taking them away from their jobs and their families, so they could get uncomfortable, rely on Him, and learn not only how to be disciples but to experience what the life of a disciple looks, acts, and behaves like.

The “in-between place” is critical in raising up people to become disciple makers, to learn to live life on mission. We have such an in-between place and it is called Freedom Lake. And Freedom Lake does things differently… It’s not what you think. It goes against the conventional ways of doing things in how it assists men who have been released from incarceration.

This “in-between place” does not have roots in the New Testament but, rather, in the Old Testament. Elijah is a terrific example of being “in-between” as God prepared him for what was to come. 

Elijah was in-between Samaria and Gilead. This was God’s place of preparation for Elijah. God had brought him out of his element and away from the comfort and familiarity of his home. God did great things through Elijah and today Elijah is celebrated as one of the greatest prophets. However, that did not happen quickly, easily, or in comfort. 

God does not need us to be knowledgeable or “up to speed” on His plans. What He does need from us is to trust and to be obedient to Him. 

Trust and obedience comes from time, discomfort, and lessons that can only be gained by God taking us to the “in-between place.” And so it is with Freedom Lake. But Freedom Lake is a far different “in-between place” than what currently exists with men coming out of incarceration.

Freedom Lake is not a halfway house.
Freedom Lake is not a transitional house.
Freedom Lake is a Mission House. 

What Freedom Lake is at its core is a discipleship training center for men who are there to learn to live life on mission. The men who successfully complete the application and screening process enter Freedom Lake as a Disciple Apprentice. 

The logical question remains: “Why is Freedom Lake necessary?”

You’re probably familiar with the Albert Einstein quote which states:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

The current parole system isn’t working. And, please, do not misunderstand what we’re saying here. We are not criticizing the men and women in corrections and the parole systems who are working hard and doing the best they can. What we are saying is that the system itself as currently constructed is not keeping released inmates from ending up back in prison.

The recidivism rate in Kentucky is 46%. The good news is that over half of parolees in the state are not winding up back in prison. The bad news is that almost half of parolees in the state ARE winding up behind bars again (or multiple times). 

In fact, the gate to the prison is really a revolving door as paroled men return to incarceration not once but many times.

The current system just isn’t working so a different approach is needed to help bring that recidivism rate down. 

We have learned through our prison ministry that it isn’t until men fully surrender to God and commit to living their lives on mission that the revolving door to the prison gate stops spinning. 

One such man – our brother-in-Christ Chad – spent four different stints in one facility alone. Chad is among the first group of men to come to Freedom Lake as a Disciple Apprentice. They will be the first of many who – God willing – never sees the inside of a prison again unless it’s as a volunteer with our ministry.

And doing things differently is exactly what Freedom Lake is about. But it’s not something we created. Rather, we modeled what Jesus did by assisting others in leadership positions, watching over them until they are ready to lead on their own, and we launch them to go find other qualified believers and start new groups. 

The men who join us at Freedom Lake will be treated as men on mission who, after completing their 12-month apprenticeship, will be sent out into the world, prepared for what God has been using this “in-between place” in their next step in sharing the gospel and ministering to others as He guides them.

During the Disciple Apprenticeship training at Freedom Lake, these select men will learn how to continue to grow spiritually, putting the disciple multiplication tools they have learned into practice, go on prayer walks in low-income communities, participate in deep-dive 3Thirds studies, and attend offsite training with current local and global missionaries. 

What makes Freedom Lake different is that our men will not seek employment; they will be full-time apprentices who are sharers of the gospel. There will be training opportunities within the Disciple Apprenticeship program where men can learn marketable skills (more on that next month) to prepare them for full-time employment during the final phase of their stay at Freedom Lake.

Part of the difficulty for men leaving prison facilities is that they have lived a life where others have told them what to do and when and regimented their lives where they don’t necessarily have responsibility or accountability for the everyday tasks of living in the free world. 

Upon release from prison, these men struggle because they have been trained not to be self-starters, not to be proactive, and not responsible for daily life tasks. No one holds them accountable to a daily schedule and they are not necessarily equipped to make and follow their own. 

Freedom Lake is all about accountability in every aspect of life.

What makes the Disciple Apprenticeship program challenging is the separation preparation. 

Our men and their families want to know when they can come home and when they can visit. Again, Freedom Lake is not a halfway house or a transitional house, it is that in-between place that is free from distraction so that these men can focus, can concentrate, and can avoid distractions of their former lives before they were incarcerated. There must be a clean, intentional distance from friends and family. 

The military is a good example of this. 

The military is training men and women to become something they’ve never been and heavily restricts how often they can leave the base and how often loved ones can visit (which is not very often). 

What will be required of military personnel who are being equipped to fight in difficult and potentially deadly circumstances and properly prepared for the future cannot be done in the comforts of home. It must be done at the “in-between place.”

If the men want lasting change, they must do things differently and that includes a time of preparation separation. And part of that is they need to resist the urge to go home. Home – and its potential negative influences in and around it – can derail these men from their true mission and could put them on a path of reoffending.

I think you would agree with me that we all want to make the world a better place and we want to leave the world better than we found it.

We believe making the world a better place for the men who enter Freedom Lake is part of that mission to not only share the gospel as Jesus commissioned us to do but also to raise up more men on mission to serve wherever God has prepared them to go.

We invite you to be part of Freedom Lake’s doing things differently.

You will have the opportunity to meet these men on mission and see how God has done a work in their hearts to be a servant of God and to serve others.

Our 4th Annual God’s Harvest Celebration is coming up soon and we urge you to get a front-row seat. You’ll hear stories of how God has lifted these men from tragedy to triumph and the next steps He has planned in their lives. 

Get your tickets now by going to https://freedomlake.org.

You may find yourself at an “in-between place” of your own right now. We encourage you not to be frustrated or in despair as a result of it but rather emboldened, knowing God is preparing you for a specific task in which He wants you to play an important role. 

Embrace the discomfort.
Lean into God.
Trust Him, obey Him, and be ready to experience His glory.

The in-between place is exactly where God wants you to be. He just does things differently.