If you read Lois’s Story at the beginning of the month, then you might be a little curious about how God has changed Lois and how she has served Him in the last four decades since she received Jesus Christ as her Savior. Recall that my brother-in-law had been instrumental in sharing the gospel with her, and so as he watched God begin to change her life, he realized that she was very gifted in telling others about Jesus. At the time he was involved with Bill Glass and his prison ministry, which today is Bill Glass Behind the Walls (BGBTW). Glass is a former NFL player who finished his football career as defensive end with the Cleveland Browns in 1968, and has spent years since then sharing his testimony mostly behind prison walls, founding Bill Glass Ministries (BGM) in 1969.                                                                                                                            

Gary, my brother-in-law, thought Lois would be a great team member in this ministry. Lois says that when Gary asked her to come along on a visit to a Florida prison, she thought, “Why not? I will try anything once.”

After a brief training and shadowing, Lois found herself ready to begin. She was under the impression that she would be working only with women inmates; but as the prisoners were dismissed into the courtyard, Lois was faced with a crowd of men to minister to and pray with.

Lois says at first she wanted to “rush out and lead everyone to the Lord. I wanted to, but as I looked around I realized it was more than I could do.” So she prayed, “Lord I can’t do this alone.” Her eyes connected with one inmate across the yard. He walked over to Lois, stuck out his hand and introduced himself. Lois introduced herself and asked, “Would you like to talk about Jesus?” So they squatted down and Lois began thumbing through “The Four Spiritual Laws,” explaining and discussing each page and the scriptures on them. By the time she reached the final page, five guys had gathered around and were ready to pray to accept Jesus as Lord.

Later that night she was talking to some women inmates who said that a 12-year-old girl had been admitted that day, charged with a murder the night before. The girl claimed that she was a Satanist. The women asked Lois if she would talk to the girl the next day after the service. As Lois says, they didn’t have to ask twice.

The next day Lois found herself sitting on the prison lawn, under some trees, face to face with the young girl who Lois describes as an angry and troubled child. Not the slightest trace of peace or happiness displayed on her young face. Lois and the girl began talking, and eventually Lois shared the familiar little booklet with her. When Lois asked her if she wanted to accept Christ as her Savior, she nodded yes, and began to pray. Lois says she was watching the girl’s face as she prayed when she noted in amazement that “her countenance started to change. It started from the bottom of her face and went up until she no longer looked like a lost angry girl influenced by Satan, but a beautiful child of God. She was totally changed.”

God has kept Lois in prison ministry. “I was an evangelist right from the get-go,” Lois says. BGM put her in leadership to women in prison. She has ministered in the two largest prisons in the country, including the one in Cook County, Chicago. There she worked with about 800 women.

Then Lois met Cathy. By this time, Lois had settled into a small, comfortable home she had built in North Fort Myers, Florida to spend her busy “retirement” years. Cathy, who is originally from Vermont, had also recently moved to North Fort Myers where she was living with her daughter. She began attending the same church as Lois and the two became friends, often having lunch together. Cathy had been divorced at a young age. Her father was an alcoholic and committed suicide. She was a long-time single parent and a fairly young Christian when she arrived in Florida.  After a time, Cathy began to look for a place to live and Lois offered her home. In the usual Lois style, she told Cathy, “God takes care of one person in this home, I know He’ll take care of two.” Cathy moved in.

Through Lois, Cathy also became involved with BGM, accompanying her on prison visits. It wasn’t long before a chaplain in an Alaskan prison asked Lois to come speak at his prison. This was outside of BGM but Lois was delighted to go. The offer continued to be repeated until Lois was making regular trips to Alaska. She asked Cathy to come with her. It was the first time Cathy had ever been to Alaska. She says, “I stepped off the plane and immediately was in love with Alaska.” Cathy missed the mountains in Vermont and thought Alaska’s mountains were even more grand. She decided to move there shortly after, but only a couple years later she realized her arthritis was getting more and more aggravated by the cold Alaskan climate. She moved back to Florida and eventually back in with Lois.

Meanwhile, Lois was having an epiphany of her own. The chaplain in Alaska was encouraging her to form a 501c3 and begin her own prison ministry. Lois says she was vacuuming her living room one day and “I was right over there,” she said to me pointing to a corner of the room where we were sitting.  “The Lord made it very plain. He put it on my heart to start a ministry named JOY, for Jesus, others, and you.”

That was in 1995. Since then, Lois and Cathy have visited prisons in Alaska and several other states, including Arizona, Colorado, and Washington. Lois speaks, Cathy sings, and they talk and pray with prisoners. They’ve seen many prisoners accept Jesus as Savior. Working closely with prison chaplains, they see to it that these new Christians are put into already established Bible studies and closely discipled. 

It was in an Alaska prison that Lois met Carlos. Carlos was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His testimony is powerful. Rebelling against his parents, his life was mired in drugs and women. Up and down the east coast he wreaked havoc on the streets until his mother bought him a one-way ticket to Alaska where he had relatives and where she intended for him to go to college. Instead, he continued the same life-style. He says he “sold out to the white powder” and everything ended for him one day when he had an encounter with police. He shot a police officer and he himself was shot and seriously wounded. He is now serving a 70-year sentence. In prison, though, his next impacting encounter was with Jesus through the ministry of a chaplain.

Here’s how he views the circumstances of his life now: “I am incarcerated behind these bars because of the wrong that I have done, but God has given me a second chance in this life. I am free in Him, and it does not matter how much time I have to serve. I am not alone. I have a love relationship with my God that keeps me going every day.”

Carlos has written a 365-day devotional for prisoners, complete with his own artwork. He approached Lois with the idea of publishing it and placing it in prisons, free of charge for the prisoners. Lois loved the idea, and asked God for guidance. Lois spoke to her supporters about raising enough money to publish the book, which included my brother-in-law. He thought of the business I had at the time, which was helping self-publishing authors get their books published. And that’s how I got to know Lois.  The first printing of The Key to Success Devotional was in 2008. J.O.Y. Ministries for Jesus is the publisher. The book has been printed in both Spanish and English and Lois keeps raising the money for more printings. Already over 10,000 copies of the book have been given to prison inmates.

Lois and Cathy have not visited a prison since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Lois’s health is not too good these days, so she is turning over the ministry to a friend and former inmate from Alaska. However, Lois will continue to keep track of the devotional’s distribution. She prays all that God began through her will continue long after she is gone. “I did my best,” Lois says. “And God has been mighty good.”

If you would like to know more about J.O.Y. Ministry for Jesus or to contribute to The Key to Success Devotional project, you can reach the ministry at joymininc@aol.com. Be sure to let Lois know you read about the ministry on this blog.

I like to think of the contrasts in Lois’s life before Jesus and after. Before—a loud, messy brawl. After—a life unashamedly proclaiming Jesus. When she finally sees her Savior, oh, how she will share in His glory! How many former prisoners will meet her again there! She will give each of them a big hug and be so happy to see them. She will be able to say to her Lord, “These are the ones I told about You.” But it won’t be Lois boasting about her goodness. Oh no. “Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:31).


Lois and her daughter, Stephony, at Stephony's recent wedding.