Youth Incarceration Prevention Ministry

WHO we are and WHAT we do

We are a team dedicated to ensuring our youth is advancing forward in the right direction mentally, spiritually, and physically. We work to provide them with the proper knowledge and tools to advance forward in a positive direction in life.

We are adults, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more who simply want the best for every child and to afford them an opportunity to be successful in life.

Our youth are our today and our tomorrow. As responsible adults, we have a duty and a responsibility to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and resources necessary to not only survive, but to thrive and become productive citizens.

We work together in a collaborative effort to support and provide the necessary tools and resources for our youth.

YIPM HISTORY

This ministry is a part of St. John Missionary Baptist Church Soul-Saving Center in Stokes, North Carolina where the under shepherd, spiritual leader and pastor is Gregory V. Black and our Elect Lady is Patricia Black. Pastor Black shared what God laid upon his heart to do which was to start a “Prison/Jail Ministry.”

The Prison/Jail Ministry was started with Bro. Eddie Godley and Deacon Kevin Tetterton, both members of St. John would volunteer to visit the Pitt County jail where they would minister, witness to, and pray for the inmates in jail or the detention center.

Through serving in this ministry, the Lord placed a vision within Brother Eddie Godley to begin working and being proactive at making sure other youth do not end up in the same predicament as those whom he and Deacon Tetterton were visiting every month through the Prison/Jail Ministry. That was the birthing of the Youth Incarceration Prevention Ministry and how it started.

The first few events were held at the church. The first event was held June 11, 2016. Bro. Godley saw it as a way to educate and teach other youth how not to end up in Jail or the Detention Center. He saw how for some, it had become a cycle of repeat crime. Bro. Eddie Godley saw that it was necessary to be able to offer better choices to our youth so they don’t end up down the wrong road. The first event was a great success because parents had contacted Bro. Godley for assistance in how to help their son who needed guidance and to be steered in the right direction in life.

Others in the ministry at St. John, local law enforcement, and the community have caught the vision and have since decided to volunteer working to combine this ministry’s purpose with invaluable community resources to bring pertinent knowledge, tools, and resources to the youth so they can be equipped

2016 -The first event held in Stokes, NC at St. John with powerful presentations from officers from the Pitt County Sheriff Office; Clemmie German and LaChauncey Staton; an article was written in the Daily Reflector newspaper: Tough Talk Steers Teens Away from Jail and Crime.
2017 - A guided tour to the Pitt County Detention Center here in Greenville, NC was coordinated with the Pitt County Sheriff Office. This collaboration was an opportunity which gave the youth a birds eye view of what to avoid and the reality of jail and detention.
2017 - Brother Godley, was contacted to interview with K-Love 98.9 FM Radio, a national radio network which has a listening base of over 800 stations to discuss the Youth Incarceration Prevention Ministry. (Interview aired August 27, 2017)
2018 - Received encouragement from supporters from as far as Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and other surrounding areas for the work being done to steer our youth in the right direction.
2019 - Motivational Speaker, Author, retired educator, Gwendolyn Holman Speight from Virgina joined the panel of speakers from the Pitt County Sheriff office.
2020 - The pandemic was cause for moving the event outside the walls of the church and to a later date. All speakers presented via social media.
2022 - Event continues to grow with great momentum each year. Keynote speaker, Mr. Dontae Sharpe - Mr. Sharpe returned to Greenville, NC for the first time since his pardon and speak to the youth about prevention.
2022 - The seventh annual Youth Incarceration Prevention Ministry even was held JUNE 4, 2022 for the first time outside of the church; other then through zoom due to the pandemic. The location was in Greenville, North Carolina at the GREENVILLE TOWN COMMON.
2023 - YIPM was held the second year at the Greenville Town Commons. Keynote Speaker, Sheriff Paula S. Dance.

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