I want to start by saying THANK YOU to you all for your continued support and investment into God's kingdom through my ministry work with Consumed.
This month has been 10 years since I joined the Consumed Ministries staff team. I've been spending some time reflecting on all the opportunities God has opened doors to these last 10 years and the work He has done. It has included being a part of the Urbana worship team, helping the Celebrate Recovery ministry to grow inside the Waseca Federal Women's Prison, gathering to worship and share the love of Jesus inside an eclectic coffee shop where many New Agers would meet, teaching Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class out of our home with Jake, leading worship at retreats and conferences for college students, coming alongside families to lead them in prayer and singing worship songs as they've grieved an unexpected loss of a family member, leading worship at various churches, bringing groups with me into the Women's Shakopee Prison to worship with the women inside and pray for them, worshiping together via Zoom during the heart of the pandemic, mentoring young worship leaders, leading worship for MN Adult & Teen Challenge, and most recently getting to connect with women who were formerly incarcerated inside the Women's Shakopee Prison on both a weekly basis (our weekly check-in support group) and monthly (Prison Fellowship alumni breakfasts). It is truly humbling to remember all the ways that God has moved and has touched my heart and others' through these experiences in the last 10 years. I'm just so grateful. Thank you dear family and friends for your continued love, support, and investment into God's kingdom. Your prayers, giving, and support are intertwined in these experiences and stories shared. Much love, Jackie
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October was an action-packed, fun-filled, adventurous month for Jake and me. From Fargo, ND to Dallas, TX to Alexandria & Waseca, MN-- it was a month filled with many memories and some wonderful ministry opportunities! Fargo with Friends Our adventures started out with a road trip to Fargo, ND where we got to spend some time with dear friends of ours, Robbie & Jenn Lukens. We always love getting to see these guys because of the ways we all sharpen each other in our faith and relate to journeying through the same stages of life together. Dallas, TX Thank you for those that prayed for Jake and I as we traveled to Dallas, TX to attend the Gateway Conference. It was a wonderful experience to attend a conference with Jake. Although we found we didn't agree in totality with the teachings at the conference, our beliefs in the Gospel are stronger now as a result. We were challenged to think critically about some aspects of truth that were presented and it was good to do that together with Jake. We also got to spend some time with my cousin and his wife, which was such a treat! Here we are all riding the trolley together. InterVarsity Conference in Alexandria, MN Next was a weekend conference in Alexandria for InterVarsity's Cross Training fall conference. I had the privilege of helping to lead worship for the weekend. Over 400 college students attended and several students made first-time decisions to follow Christ! Here are a couple videos from our times worshiping together at the main sessions: One of the students there led us in this Hmong song. It's called "Tswv Yexus Lub Npe", which means "The Lord Jesus' Name". Be sure to listen to her explanation of why the lyrics to this song are so significant, coming from the Hmong culture. Translation: Verse 1: The Lord Jesus' name is very good Chorus: Hallelujah, the Lord Jesus' name is very good Verse 2: Jesus has helped us defeat the enemy Verse 3: Jesus has defeated death This is one of the songs I led. Love hearing the voices at the end singing acapella.
Women's Prison in Waseca, MN And I just returned from a visit to the Women's Federal Prison in Waseca, MN, where I got to celebrate with 30 female inmates who graduated from their Christ-centered recovery program called, Celebrate Recovery. I had the joy of leading them in praise & worship at the ceremony. This graduation was such a milestone for these women and it was such an honor to be able to celebrate with them! I also got to personally deliver a special donation: 10 copies of the book, "Retold", written by my friend Sarah Stadler. It is such a treat when the prison receives a donation like this. Thank you to the person who purchased these 10 books to donate and thank you Sarah for writing! "I didn't know I had friends here until last weekend", said Carol (name changed), who was just released from suicide watch two days prior, to a room filled with her fellow inmates. Carol is one of four women who shared her testimony of coming to faith in Christ, due in large part to the ministry of Celebrate Recovery inside the Waseca Women's Prison. Carol explained how when she was released from her suicide watch, she was amazed at the number of women who cared for her, expressing their concern in asking how she was doing and telling her they were praying for her. It amazed her, she thought she was all alone.
For many years, Carol was living the good life. She served in the military, bought a home, and started her own law firm. But during this time, she got involved with using drugs and life began to crumble in her 30 years of drug use. Carol referenced 1 Cor. 10:12 in her testimony which says, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!". In a short matter of time, Carol lost her dad to a car accident, her partner cheated on her, and because of her drug addiction she lost her home and her law firm. Her plans had collapsed. At one of the drug treatment centers she admitted herself into, she was told that "The only way to stay sober is God and helping others". This stuck with her and it wasn't until being brought to the Waseca Prison and becoming involved in Celebrate Recovery (CR) that she started to really apply this to her own life. Carol signed up for the CR class, which is a 12-Step Christ-Centered recovery program, and that's when she says her relationship with God began to change. "God filled the empty holes in my life and I felt peace for the first time in my life." Carol closed her story by expressing this to her 25 other fellow Celebrate Recovery graduates: "I don't know why all these things have happened. All I know is there is a God and He loves us". What faith. Such a blessing for me to be part of this CR graduation ceremony and celebrate with the women as we sang Christmas carols together, encouraged one another, and prayed together. Can't wait to go back! I want to start by saying THANK YOU to you all for your continued support and investment into God's kingdom through my ministry with Consumed. This update will feature how music ministry is playing a role inside prisons as well as provide opportunities for you to be involved as well! Waseca Federal Women's Prison At the end of July, I had the privilege of going back to Waseca to celebrate with 60 inmates who graduated from their 12-step Christ-centered recovery program called Celebrate Recovery. Our time together included getting to lead the girls in worship through music, hearing 2 of the inmates share their testimonies, a praise dance by 3 of the inmates, and get this--the WARDEN came to join the graduation ceremony and even shared a message of hope and encouragement with the women! This was the first time she (the Warden) has joined a graduation ceremony since I've been going. So awesome to see this ministry gaining the attention of the leadership staff at the prison and for them to see Christ's power to change so many lives through this ministry! Shakopee State Women's Prison When I moved to the Twin Cities last summer, I began praying for opportunities to go inside more prisons in the metro area. I was loving my continued experiences of ministering to the women in the Waseca Prison and wanted to start expanding beyond that location. I met someone who had been going there on a regular basis, also doing music ministry with his worship team. He invited me to go and play keyboard/sing and we've continued to partner together at this prison ever since, as well as the Lino Lakes Men's Prison. We went in early August and hosted a worship time here with about 200 women and I'll be returning again in November. Another group of women I'm excited to continue to build relationships with! Lino Lakes State Men's Prison On Friday night, Jake and I returned to the Lino Lakes Men's Prison. I got to be a part of leading worship and Jake shared his testimony with these 200 men. It was so awesome for us to share this experience together! The reoccurring theme that kept coming up throughout the night was the word "Freedom". Each one of us who shared from up front talked about how FREE we've observed prisoners to be (ironic, right?!), who come together in worship. And how they might be inside prison walls, but they are FREE men. "Hallelujahs!" and "Amens!" filled the room in agreement. A highlight of the night was hearing 200 men sing "was blind but now I SEE" at the top of their lungs while singing Amazing Grace a capella. Few things are sweeter to my ear than hearing a chorus of men worshiping their Creator together. And I got to experience it inside of a prison! Jesus said in Luke 4:18, "He has sent me to proclaim FREEDOM for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed FREE." Praising God that I got to see this Scripture come to life in the most surreal way!! How You Can Get Involved:
Coming with me on a prison visit: If you would like the opportunity to observe and be part of a worship experience inside, or would be willing to share your testimony with the inmates, please let me know. Upcoming dates are: Friday, Oct. 18: Lino Lakes, 5:45-8:00pm. Monday, Nov. 18: Shakopee, 5:30-9:00pm. Mentoring: Studies are showing that mentoring is greatly reducing the rate of return to prison. All 3 of these prisons are looking for people to mentor the inmates either as a pen pal or in a one-on-one setting. This is a great opportunity to be part of someone's complete rehabilitation and recovery. This would be a monthly commitment for one year, must be 21 or older, orientation training required. Giving: Consumed Ministires is a 501-c3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. If you would like to give a financial gift to support my work with Consumed Ministries you can: 1) Give online at http://consumedministries.com/giving 2) Write a check to Consumed Ministries and mail to: Consumed Ministries PO Box 20214 Bloomington, MN 55420 Thanks for reading and for your investment in the Kingdom of God through Consumed Ministries! Hello! I am excited to be writing now officially as Mrs. Jackie Dixon! I love saying that! Jake and I have been married now for nearly a month and are loving our time together as husband and wife. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support to us! Waseca Women's Prison Two days after returning from our honeymoon, Jake and I got to return to the Waseca Women's Prison. I hadn't been there since October and this was Jake's first time coming to meet the girls, so you can imagine our excitement!! Highlights included teaching the girls a new Spanish worship song, listening to an inmate share her testimony while her small group stood behind her on stage because she was so nervous- so cool to watch!, and celebrating at a graduation ceremony with 30+ inmates who have worked hard to complete the 12-step, Christ-centered recovery program to overcome their hurts, habits, and hangups. A picture of me leading worship for the girls at Waseca one of the times we were there. Jake described our time there in this way: "A couple things stood out to me going there. One, you could sense the love in that room for Jesus Christ as it was so obvious that these girls were passionate for the Lord. Secondly, it was very humbling for to me to see the joy in that room for who our Lord is and what He has done for us. These girls do not have the same physical freedom we have every day of our lives, but the same God that is with us, is with them and that overrules any bars or walls." Thank you all for being such a blessing! The things God is allowing me to do through this ministry would not be possible without your prayers and support! Thank you for your support in how you pray, give, and encourage. You are such a blessing to me! Here's what's been happening... Networking I've had the privilege of getting to meet with a couple different worship pastors in the area who are connected to Consumed Ministries. It's been great to hear their stories of how they got involved in leading worship music and of their involvement in the Twin Cities. Both people I met with were able to suggest young college students to me who are part of their churches and who they think would benefit from being mentored musically as worship leaders. I am excited to connect with these students and see where God leads! I've also been invited by both worship pastors to come as a guest to their church and sing on their worship teams. This will be a great way for me to meet these students to develop relationships with them. Waseca Prison On Monday, I got to go back to Waseca to visit my girls. I hadn't gone to visit since May so it was great to be back and to hear about all that God has been doing in their lives! If you remember from my last update, I asked for prayers that a staff worker would be hired to replace the one who was overseeing Celebrate Recovery and who recently retired. Without someone else to fill his position, Celebrate Recovery was again at risk for being discontinued, which would have forced the girls to stop meeting together as part of this Christ-centered recovery program. I am happy to report that that position will be filled in the next couple weeks! God is faithful!!! During this visit, we had a great time of worshiping together. Joy immediately filled my heart as I walked into this room filled with about 80 inmates, each one as precious to me as a dear sister. The room erupted in applause and cheers as we got to come together to be reunited again. We started our time by listening to the Spanish choir sing a worship song that they had worked hard to prepare, followed by a woman named Pauline who shared her testimony. Pauline was caught years ago for running a meth lab and was sent to a federal prison in California. It was there that she met Jesus and learned about this abundant life she could have in him. She later got transferred to this prison in Waseca, MN where she is now one of the small group leaders for Celebrate Recovery and helping other women inside learn about how to follow Jesus. Praise God for such an awesome testimony of a life transformed! After Pauline's testimony, I led us in a time of worship. I learned that the girls were currently working through step 4 of the 12 recovery steps, which involves doing a personal inventory of everyone that they've hurt and who they've been hurt by. Forgiveness. It is the most time consuming and hardest step of the recovery process. So knowing this, I felt led to guide us through a time of prayer ministry, where I asked for 5 volunteers to come up front and pray with others who wanted prayer to help forgive those they needed to make amends with. We spent the next 25 mins. in a time of prayer, where I continued to lead us in worship while woman after woman came forward to receive prayer. The Holy Spirit was on the move as He began healing hearts and filling women with courage to forgive. I think my favorite story, though, out of my time there, was an inmate named Sonja who is a strong believer and leader among this CR group. She was one of the women who volunteered to pray for others. During this time, God directed her attention to a fellow inmate who she had never met before and heard Him say to her, "Tell her to 'Just Believe'. " So Sonja without hesitation went up to her and said those words, "Just Believe". The woman looked at her with shock in her eyes and couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. She then told her about how she's been struggling with believing in God and been on the fence with all things related to faith. And how she knew Sonja's words were a direct word from God to her! Can you see why I love getting to visit these girls so much?!!!!!! Urbana This weekend I will be flying to Chicago to record our worship album with the Urbana worship team. This will be the CD that will be available to all 18,000 Urbana participants at the global conference in December. Only 4 1/2 months away!! On a personal note... I am so thankful for the man that God has brought into my life, Jake Dixon. On July 12, Jake proposed to me and I said YES!!! Can't wait to be the future Mrs. Dixon :) Planning to get married in March and we're so excited!!! For a glimpse of some pics, check out the ones attached or view the full album and the story of our engagement on my Facebook page: Engagement pics. Excited to continue to share about what God is doing. Thank you for helping to make it all possible! |
Jackie Dixon
I love Jesus. I love my husband & family. I like dark chocolate. And hats. Traveling. Slippers. Hand written notes. And thrifting. These are a few of my favorite things! Categories
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