BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

In time, he became part of the chapel leadership and helped lead Bible studies. He also conducted small groups. Jon wasn’t in prison, he was in Bible college—making the most of every day. After a couple of years, the men who’d demanded that he choose a group started coming to him. “Hey Jon, my little brother was in a car wreck. Would you pray for him?” “Ponder, my mother had a heart attack. Would you pray for her?” Jon never caused any trouble and earned points for good behavior. By 2007, three years after his arrest, he was transferred to a medium security prison in Sheridan, Ore. He planted himself in the prison church there and threw himself into the work of the gospel. Four months before his release, Jon asked God, “What do You want me to do when I go home?” 'Son, you’re not going home,' the Lord said. 'You’re being sent. There’s a difference. Remember the day when you got arrested? Remember that searchlight? That was My light, the same light that shone on Saul when he transformed into Paul. 'Remember when you were told to get out of the driver’s seat? That was Me showing you that you had to get out of the driver’s seat of your life. Remember when you were told to raise your hands? That was Me showing you the power of praise and submission. Remember when you were told to get on your knees? That was Me showing you the position of humility. 'Remember when you were told to lay face down on the ground? That was Me showing you how to live the rest of your life. You’re being sent back to Las Vegas, to a city where the people are in bondage.' Life as a Mission Field When his sentence had been served, Jon was released to a federal halfway house. “We were heading toward Las Vegas at about 6 a.m. and I saw the strip lit up,” Jon remembers. “When I saw that city, I just wept. I’d wreaked havoc there, and now it was my mission field. “The next day I had a visitor. It was Special Agent Richard Beasley, the man who had taken me into custody. I looked into his eyes and now understood why I felt such peace in his presence. It was the anointing; he carried the presence of God.” “Welcome home, Jon,” Beasley said. “I want you to know that I’ve been praying for you. God called me to the FBI, in part, for you.” As both men wept, Jon knew he had a friend for life. Jon also knew what he would have to do to fulfill the call of God on his life. First and foremost, he had to get in a good local church where he could grow under strong leaders. He found a home at the International Church of Las Vegas. Next, he had to find a job and pay off his fees and fines. Then, he would start a program to help ex-offenders. The other desire of his heart was to marry a godly woman. He left that one up to the Lord. By 2009, with the support of a team of pastors, Jon began a ministry called Hope for Prisoners, helping ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into the community. When the ministry was invited to participate in a $1.5 million grant, it seemed like a dream come true. Sitting at the meeting, ready to sign the papers, Jon was surprised when the Lord told him to get up and walk away. Walking away from nearly $600,000 wasn’t a challenge for someone who’d walked away from gangs and prison protection. “The Lord didn’t want us to look like the rest of the world,” Jon recalls. “He didn’t want us to work with agencies whose goal is money. He wanted us to work with His people, those He had called into the justice system. “We have a very unique mentoring program. Our mentoring team consists of pastors and leaders from churches across Southern Nevada as well as a team of volunteer police officers. God is moving our reentry community into unchartered territory. When you have the church partnering with law enforcement to mentor ex-offenders, it truly is new wineskin.” Through Hope for Prisoners, Jon is also passing on to others the help God sent to him through Kenneth Copeland. “His materials changed my life and through our ministry, many ex-gang members are reading them. Whenever I hear Brother Copeland’s voice, it reminds me of all those months in solitary confinement when it was Jesus, Kenneth Copeland and me. He is one of my spiritual fathers.” Today Jon Ponder’s life has been transformed by the Word of God. He’s not only fulfilling his call to ministry, he’s married to Jamie, the godly woman of his dreams. They are raising three precious children together, 14-year-old Jayden, 2-year-old Promise and 10-month-old Liberty. During his years in prison, Jon used to pray for restoration with all of his children. Now, God is answering those prayers. In addition, he has led his siblings to the Lord. What once seemed impossible has happened to Jon, and he shares the good news with others every chance he gets. It doesn’t matter how bad your situation might be, if you turn to God with your whole heart, everything’s going to be all right. V 14 : BVOV : APRIL '14

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