In March of 1997, Laurel Kujawa invited Sue Schillinger and Mary Burke to participate in an Easter Program at the VOA by leading worship and singing some special music. They went to the women’s prison with some uncertainties, but once they set up the equipment and started singing, the presence of the Lord came down and everyone had a wonderful worship time. After that first experience, the Lord birthed a burden in their hearts for the women (“residents”) in the prison.
Shortly afterwards, Sue contacted Laurel to ask how they could be more involved to help the prison ministry. Laurel invited them to join her once a month for a Monday Night Bible Study Group at the VOA. They’ve been regularly volunteering at the VOA since that time.
About one year after that initial program on April 6, 1998, Laurel asked Sue to be a guest speaker for the Easter Program at the VOA. She asked Sue and Mary to lead the worship and for Mary to sing special music. Sue gave a presentation she wrote called, “An Invitation to Lunch.” As Sue set a table to prepare for a meal in her presentation, she would talk about how every item on the table represented a spiritual object lesson. Mary assisted with the props while Sue preached. As the sermon progressed, they noticed a lot of movement among the residents, more than the usual “phone time” regularly scheduled for their personal phone calls.
At different times individual residents would get up and walk into the restroom, or go to the phones and then return to their seats. There was also the recurring sound of women crying and weeping. When Sue gave the invitation for salvation at the completion of her presentation, 55 out of 62 residents in attendance stood to receive Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior. Several of the residents did this for the first time and the others rededicated their lives to Christ. Sue and Mary may never know the full impact of that service.
Two weeks after the Easter Program, Sue and Mary returned to the VOA for their regular Monday Night Bible Study. Laurel shared several stories that had occurred during and after the Program. Some of the reasons residents were running to the restroom during the service was because they started to weep under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and did not want anyone to see them cry. As in many, if not most prisons, there is great intimidation among other residents when they show any sign of weakness or even interest toward the Gospel. Another resident ran to the phone several times to call family members who had deeply hurt her to forgive each one of them.
Laurel told another story about a woman who had come to the meeting only at the request of her roommate. Her roommate had been asking her for months to attend one of these religious programs during the Holidays. It was the first religious program she had ever attended at the VOA. Being an agnostic, she did not want to have anything to do with religion or God. She gave her life to Jesus that night after hearing the truth of the Gospel. Where previously she had been depressed and void of any joy, she told Laurel that she laughed for a week after giving her heart to Jesus. Sue was able to speak with this resident on a later day. She told Sue that the weight of carrying the guilt of all her sin had been lifted off of her shoulders and she felt like she was walking on clouds. The joy of salvation permeated her life and she lives for the Lord to this present day!
Laurel also found out that a couple of the volunteers who rode together to the VOA, ended up staying a little longer to finish praying for one of the residents after all of the other volunteers had already gone home. Once they walked out to the car they realized the keys were locked inside of it. They did not have a cell phone to call for help and did not want to go back into the prison to ask for the use of the phone because it was very late and the prison was already in lock-down for the night. The volunteers decided to lay their hands on the car to pray and ask God for a miracle to unlock the car doors. Suddenly, they heard the sound of door locks popping up in the car, and when they opened their eyes they saw that the Lord had unlocked the car doors for them. They got into the car and rejoiced all the way home for the answered prayer! After that program, Laurel put Sue and Mary in charge of their own Monday Night Bible Study at the VOA.
After a lot of prayer, direction and confirmation from of the mouths of several godly leaders, Ephesians Ministries was developed. This ministry is dedicated to rescuing souls from the flames of hell and building up the Body of Christ with the Word of God and encouragement. They also developed the Prison Ministry Division of Ephesians Ministries called H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Prepare for Eternity). Two years later, the Lord spoke to Sue and Mary about stepping out on their own to start a once-a-week mentoring program called, “Friendship Mentoring.” With the blessing of Christian leaders, and management at the VOA, they facilitated the “Friendship Mentoring” program for approximately two years within the VOA.
There were many times the residents begged Sue and Mary to come back the next night to finish the Bible study or Christian video that they were not able to complete in one evening session. Because of this, Sue went in on her own many times in one week to give the residents the time, love, prayer and offer direction and the knowledge of the Word of God that many of the residents so desperately desired. Because of Mary’s work schedule at the time, she was unable to assist Sue outside of the once-a-week scheduled mentoring program night. Sue was in the prison so often that many of the residents believed that she was a staff member.
In the summer of 1999, the Lord started to release Sue and Mary from the current level of time commitment in the mentoring program so they would have time to do what God had planned for the next phase of their ministry. After several conversations with one of the residents, they began to consider what could possibly be done to reach the children of the residents with the Gospel. Sue and Mary scheduled an appointment with the VOA Manager to find out what their needs were and how they could potentially be a blessing to the children of the residents within the VOA.
In October of 1999, Ephesians Ministries held their very first Kids Crusade at the VOA! Residents signed their children up on an attendance list, ages 0-16, for a time to come and participate in a Bible-based program with their moms within the VOA. Sue and Mary scheduled clowns, songs, puppets and story-time with a meal for the children and the residents to participate in together. This Program was a tremendous positive experience for all the participants. The VOA staff and Manager also provided some very positive feedback. The Manager called Sue the next day and asked if Ephesians Ministries would come back and do their Christmas Program for the children and their moms around Christmas time in December that same year.
During the year in 2000, the Lord completely released Ephesians Ministries from the mentoring program so they could devote their time and efforts to planning for future Children’s programs at the VOA for the Holidays, special events and Crusades. With the help of private donations and many wonderful volunteers over the past several years, Ephesians Ministries has held Easter Programs, Christmas Programs and Special Events at the VOA. Ephesians Ministries held their sixth Annual Christmas Program for the children and their residents at the VOA on Dec 10, 2005, with an average of 40 children in attendance! Ephesians Ministries is the only ministry within the VOA that has the children come into the prison to participate with their moms (residents) in a program tailored just for them and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
During the eight and a half years that Sue and Mary have been leading Ephesians Ministries, an estimated 750 residents and children have been lead to pray to recieve the Lord Jesus as their Savior. As of November 2004, along with H.O.P.E., Ephesians Ministries has continued to grow to include other ministries such as women’s ministry and singles ministry using the Word of God in preaching, music and faith building testimonies. Please see the links above for contacting Ephesians Ministries for further information and how you may request their availability for speaking and singing engagements.
Sue Schillinger
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ephesians Ministries
Sue has been involved in ministry for over 30 years.
She has served in various capacities of leadership in the areas of: Youth Ministry, Music Ministry, Women's Ministry, Singles Ministry and Prison Ministry.
Mary Burke
Co- Founder, and Creative Director of Ephesians Ministries
Mary has been involved in ministry for over 30 years.
She has served in various capacities of leadership in the areas of: Music Ministry, Children's Ministry, Singles Ministry, Street Ministry, Women's Ministry and Prison Ministry.
Mary grew up in the home of Assemblies of God Missionaries, on the Island of Guam , the youngest of 4 children. Exposed to godly things from birth, she accepted Jesus as Lord at the tender age of 2 and continues to grow in knowledge and her personal relationship with Christ.
Mary started to get involved in leadership at the age of 13. Listed below are the different areas of ministry she has been part of:
When Mary left Guam for college, she continued to make a point to be involved in ministry and to remain available to be used of God in whatever way the Lord opened for her. The areas of ministry she continued in are:
Sue grew up on a farm in Northwestern Minnesota's Red River Valley. She is the eldest daughter of 9 children. She assisted her mother with caring for her siblings and helped with many chores on the family farm.
After graduating from high school, Sue moved to the Twin Cities. She spent time with some cousins on weekends and started to get involved in the youth ministry with them. Her cousins witnessed to her several times over a period of months. It wasn't until she was in a Sunday night contemporary service at another church she was attending with the youth group, that the Holy Spirit began to convict her of her need for a personal relationship with Jesus. Sue gave her life to Christ in the fall of 1975.
Sue has been very involved as a layperson in ministry for several years. The areas of ministry she has been involved in include:
* Teaching:
* 4-6th Grade Bible Study
* Junior/Senior High Bible Study
* Youth At Retreats
* Leadership -- Planning Conferences, Events, Monthly Meetings, Bible Study, Retreats, And Special Speakers For:
* Young Adult Ministry
* Single Adult Ministry
* Women's Ministry
* Women's Care Group/Bible Study For 10 Years In Her Home
* Leading Worship, Playing Guitar, And Singing Specials For Church, Women's Aglow <http://www.aglow.org/> Monthly Chapter Meetings And The Care Group
* Served On The Circle Pines Women's Aglow Chapter Board For 4 Years
* Led a Singles Bible Study in her home 1985 to 1987
* Led a Teen Girls Bible Study in her home for one year in 1984
* Served On A Drama Team Called "Pillars Of Praise" For 4 Years
* Attended Classes At Jesus People Church For Biblical Studies
* Completed Love Lines Phone Counselor Training
* Completed Leadership Training With Women's Aglow International (Aglow)
* Served For One Year As Chair Of The Aglow Prison Ministry
* Co-Chairing Ephesians Ministries:
* Speaking And Singing At Women's Conferences, Mother/Daughter Teas
* Preaching, Leading Worship, Singing Specials And Playing Guitar In Churches And In The VOA Women's Regional Corrections Center
* Co-Developed The Ephesians Ministries Prison Division Called H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Prepare For Eternity)
* Facilitated The "Friendship Mentoring" Program For Approximately Two Years In The VOA.
The Lord continues to use Sue in these areas of ministry and evangelism through visions and operating in the gifts of words of wisdom and knowledge for those the Lord brings before her for prayer.
Laurel grew up in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. She accepted Christ in October of 1976 and continues to grow in the knowledge of God and in her personal relationship with the Lord. In the Spring of 1987 Laurel took a class at her church called “Communion with God” about the importance of prayer and how intimate you can be with God during prayer time. At that time, she attended “Lamb of God” church and Pastor Bill Stai taught the course. Laurel really applied this to her daily life and bathed everything in prayer.
Not long after that an evangelism class called “Christian Equippers” was being offered at her church so Laurel decided to sign up for it. Pastor Bill Stai also taught this class. Toward the end of the course, Pastor Stai encouraged the students to put into practice the methods of evangelism they learned in the class. The men in the class decided to visit a men’s prison. Laurel was excited for them, but sad because she couldn’t think of what she could do, so she prayed about it.
Laurel also talked to her husband, John, about it and he suggested that she call the Volunteers of America Women’s Regional Corrections Center (VOA) in Roseville to see if they could use her help. Laurel prayed about this potential opportunity. The Lord reminded her of a newspaper article she had recently read. The story was about a teenage girl who had been assaulted by a high-school sports team. The girl was so distraught about it she committed suicide. Laurel thought about how no one was able to help that girl overcome the devastating trauma in her young life. This helped her to realize the tremendous opportunity she could have to help women in the midst of crisis, if she would be allowed to volunteer at the VOA.
Laurel prayed and asked the Lord to give her courage and boldness, because she didn’t feel like anyone would allow her to lead anything. She had not been to college and was not a licensed minister. After she prayed, she picked up the phone and called the prison. Laurel told them she wanted to hold a Bible study there. The manager asked her about what she did for a job and Laurel told her she was a hairdresser. The manager became very excited and told Laurel that they were in desperate need for a hair dresser and she could start by cutting hair to get her foot in the door and then later do the Bible study. Laurel was a little disappointed but she told the manager she would only do it if she could share the Gospel to the women as she did their hair. The manager agreed and signed Laurel up as a volunteer.
In July of 1987, Laurel gave her first appointment to a resident in the VOA, a hair cut and a permanent. She took 2 hours and shared the Gospel the entire time. Within a year she had a group of women volunteering with her and started presenting Holiday parties for the residents at the VOA. Laurel wanted to have the spiritual support of a ministry over her and her volunteers as they went into the prison so she contacted the President and some of Board Members of the Twin Cities Chapter of Women’s Aglow International (Aglow), that she attended, to ask for their support. They were glad to help and assist with this ministry. They prayed over Laurel and all the volunteers regularly. Many of the Aglow Board and other members of Aglow joined with Laurel in the prison ministry. The Board gave Laurel the title of Prison Ministry Chairwoman. Laurel decided it was time to start the Bible studies so she made a list of the volunteers and assigned one Monday night a month to each group she trained as volunteers.
The prison ministry has continued to grow over the years and this ministry has changed many lives for the better for both the residents at the prison and for the volunteers.
After 13 years of ministry at the VOA and a lot of prayer, Laurel believed the Lord wanted to release her as the Chair of Women’s Aglow International Prison Ministry. In 2000, she stepped down from that position to pursue other avenues of ministry and that included her own grandchildren.
Laurel now attends Redeeming Love Church in Maplewood, MN and is supported by her Pastors Mike and Sandi Smith. She continues to volunteer at the VOA with Sue Schillinger and Mary Burke of Ephesians Ministries on a regular basis for Sunday Services on a rotating schedule set up by Missionary Evangelism to Corrections (MEC). She is also involved with the Holiday Parties Ephesians Ministries presents for the residents and their children on an annual basis in the VOA.
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