On a cross-country driving trip a few years ago, Rich Luzietti noticed several small outlying juvenile facilities in rural areas.  “The facilities seemed isolated, and I wondered if anyone was ministering to the kids in them,” Rich says. That experience led to a new role as Outreach Minister for Straight Ahead.  Rich began researching facilities, contacting administrators and sharing our mission and vision.  He also began connecting with area churches to see if they would be willing to develop ministry to the kids housed in their local facilities.  “If the response is positive, we arrange to visit the church to share with them and train volunteers,” Rich explains.  

 

This summer Rich and his wife, Sally, will be working directly with kids in facilities in Arkansas and Oklahoma. “We plan to share the hope of the Gospel with them and let them know that their pasts do not necessarily determine their futures. We’ll encourage them to change the way they think about themselves and to see themselves as their Heavenly Father sees them," says Rich. And we’ll give each kid we meet a Bible and a copy of A Fresh Start and Doing Time with God to help them develop their relationship with God.”