1. Epiphany Ministries operates purely from thedona- tions and support from others. We depend on our churches, different Christian communities and other ministry groups for our funding. Each year we hold two spiritual retreat weekends where we shower the Love of God on 30-35 youthful offenders. We show these inmates that God loves them very much and that there are people in the “free world” who care about them and their futures. We need to raise enough funds to make this an awesome experience for them. The cost is approximately $120.00 per person, which includes food for 6 meals, supplies, birthday presents and other needs. Unlike Emmaus, the “Stars” that will be attending this weekend cannot provide any funds for this event. Therefore, we need the assistance of our community. Any contribution you can make towards this ministry would help tremendously. Your tax- deductible contribution for Epiphany will allow our team of volunteers to be ‘God with skin on’. Thank you for your efforts. Please pray for our team members as we all bring this ministry to our church home and Pray that God will encourage us all to make a financial commitment in helping to reach these Youth. Please make your checks payable to Epiphany Ministries of Texas. The mailing address for this and future donations is: Epiphany Ministries of Texas (Financial Support - Giddings) PO BOX 590578 Houston, TX 77259 F INANCIAL S UPPORT THE THEME FOR OUR NEXT EPIPHANY IS: ! Isaiah 43:1 When the Stars come through the doors into the chapel and see that there are people from the outside in there, they are over whelmed. They can’t believe these people would give up their precious time to share this ceremony with youth that they don’t even know. The overwhelming feeling of the Love of Gods people is displayed one last time. This time by more than the team. This last display is from our Christian communities. We need this last event to really make a statement. It shows these stars that there are people out in the real world that care about them. It will make a difference in their life and in their walk. If you are interested in joining us at the closing ceremony, go to our web site and fill out an application. You can mail it to the epiphany address. A GAPE One of the best ways to show the Love of God to these stars is through visual reminders. We call this “AGAPE.” The kind of unconditional love that comes from the Lord. We collect Posters, banners, Placemats and letters from all over the world. We ask groups to pray for the weekend and to make a visual presentation of the Love of God to our Stars. Each group gets together and decides what they can do to share God with these youth. Some groups do not have a lot of free time so they just right a letter and everyone signs it. They encourage the stars in the Lord and let them know that their group is praying for the weekend. Some have a little more time and talent and can create a poster or banner to show one of Gods Truths that will help them come to know Christ or just show them Love. These are a much needed visual through out the weekend. The agape team will use these posters and letters to build this visual display till it’s just anover- whelming feeling of being surrounded by the Love of Gods people. Then, there are some groups who want to go the extra mile and they commit to making placemats. I say extra mile because there needs to be at least 75 of each design. These go on the tables at each meal and are an extra way to show we care. The stars really look at these and enjoy the effort that is put into each one. If you are interested in making AGAPE for our next weekend, drop by our web site for the rules and specific guide lines. The address is on the front of this brochure. C LOSING C EREMONY

2. P URPOSE  The purpose of Epiphany strives to manifest God's love to these young people known as 'Stars".  Our goal in Texas is to expand the program to minister to incarcerated youth throughout the state. F ACTS  Most of the inmates are in gangs and come from varied ethnic backgrounds  Many have been emotionally or physically abused, have been on the streets since they were babies, and they have broken families.  Most have never been loved Message To The Stars  Message to the STARS on day 1: You ARE loved! God Loves You!  Theme: We are created in the image of God.Therefore, although we sin, God does not forsake us. It would be enough that God does not abandon us, but God actively seeks a relationship with us based on love and grace.  Message to the STARS on day 2: You are forgiven! God forgives you!  Theme: Knowing God’s love for us, we are empowered to confess our faults and change our attitudes and actions, centering our faith in Christ Jesus.  Message to the STARS on day 3: Christ is counting on you! God calls you!  Theme: Having experienced the love of God, having reconciled ourselves to others, we go out to love, serve, and grow in Christ Jesus We are going inside a prison! From the moment we begin to plan for the event, Satan is up in arms against us. He begins to make plans to foil our weekend and ruin what God has planned. This is why it is so important to have the entire weekend bathed in Prayer. This isn’t something that is taken lightly. The prayer coverage for the weekend will make or break the event. The devil will be roaming around us, looking to see whom he can devour. He does not like what we are going to allow God to accomplish through us and is searching for an opening. If there are around 50 people on the team and each person gets their prayer vigil filled out then that means there are no less than 50 people praying each hour, constantly from the moment we set foot inside the Unit till the weekend is over. Every minute of the Day and Night, we are covered in Prayer. because of this, we can testify to the presence of the Lord in that place. This gives us the peace we need to do Prison Ministry. E PIPHANY M INISTRIES OF T EXAS M ISSION The mission of Epiphany Prison Ministry is to offer incarcerated youth an opportunity to change their lives and value systems by introducing them to Jesus Christ. Epiphany seeks to meet the basic need of the "Stars" to feel that their lives are worthwhile because of God’s endless love for them. D ESCRIPTION Epiphany Ministry is a short three-day course in Christianity that brings to incarcerated juveniles the message of God’s love, grace and forgiveness. It is an ecumenical Christian ministry for young people who are in custody. Epiphany is modeled after similar weekend ministries such as Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, Tres Dias, and Chrysalis weekends. P RAYER C OVERAGE T HE MOST REWARDING PART OF E PIPHANY IS THE IMPACT IT HAS ON THE STARS. "E PIPHANY TAUGHT ME TO FORGIVE OTHERS AND TO LOVE THEM …" "I FOUND LOVE … AND GOT RID OF A LOT OF HATE … IT TOOK G OD ' S LOVE !" "I' VE LEARNED ABOUT G OD AND GOTTEN SOMEAN- SWERS TO QUESTIONS." "I T ' S NICE TO KNOW SOMEONE CARES FOR YOU AND LOVES YOU - AND YOU DON ' T EVEN KNOW THEM." "B EFORE E PIPHANY I BELIEVED IN G OD, BUT J ESUS JUST WASN ' T ALIVE. N OW I KNOW WHAT BEING A C HRISTIAN REALLY IS." I MPACT ON THE S TARS If you would like to know more about Epiphany Ministries, feel free to write us at the address below or ask around your church. Maybe someone is already involved and they can help you find all the answers you need. We also have a website that is loaded with good information. http://www.geocities.com/giddings_epiphany Tammy Christopher Epiphany Ministries P.O. Box 590578 Houston, Texas 77259-0578 M ORE I NFORMATION