By Tony Miano

An Interview With Deputy Bryan White

If you work patrol, you answer a wide assortment of radio calls. Some calls are exciting and dangerous. With others, you wonder why the desk didn't run a little better interference and handle such a ridiculous call over the phone. However, regardless of the nature of the call, we answer it and do our job.

Is the same always true when God puts a call on our hearts? Are we always obedient to the point that we answer the call no matter what we think or how we feel? Or do we, at times, try to convince God that, although He asked us to do one thing, He really meant another? What if God called you to set aside your life, pack up your family, and go to Siberia? Would you do it? Well, I have a friend and partner who answered such a call.

Bryan White and I became radio car partners in 1992. I believe it was a partnership orchestrated by the Lord. It was great to share a radio car with someone who shared my faith. Working early mornings, we had ample opportunity to share our faith with each other. I learned a lot from Bryan during the time we worked together.

By the time I started working with Bryan, he and his wife Kathy were finalizing plans for a one year mission to Siberia. No, not Santa Monica... Siberia. Bryan and his family have returned from their mission and he's back to work as a deputy sheriff. I hope we'll be sharing a radio car again soon. Bryan and I sat down for breakfast recently, and he shared with me his mission experience. I would like to share some of that conversation with you, now.

PMJ: When did the Lord put a mission to Siberia on your heart?

BRYAN: "We first started praying for Russia 10 years ago. We first got involved with Russia through 'Brother Andrew.' We were writing letters to pastors who had been imprisoned for their faith. The idea was that the KGB would get these letters, because the chances were that the pastors would never see them. The hope was that the jailers would read the letters and think, 'We better keep this guy alive because someone in the west knows he's here.'"

"That was 10 years ago. I actually remember saying that Russia is one country I would never go to. I've learned not to say that anymore; because the one place you say you would never go is where the Lord will send you."

"Our church first got involved when Russia began to open up. We got involved with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and a coalition of Baptist churches out of Florida called 'Project Impact.' What they did was go to Russia, evangelizing and planting churches in Siberia."

"I remember another couple in our church deciding to go. We were real excited for them, but I didn't think it was in the cards for us. I just couldn't see it. At the time, Kathy and I were involved in an evangelism seminar in the San Fernando Valley. We had been involved in street evangelism and street dramas through our church for 12 years. We had a little side booth at this seminar where we taught people a couple of quick dramas. It was a really neat day of ministry."

"In the middle of one of these dramas, in the middle of a park in Van Nuys, I heard in my mind probably the closest thing to an audible voice. God said, 'I want you to go do this in Russia. If you don't, you will be in disobedience.' Though I didn't hear an audible voice, I felt real strongly that God wanted me to go. So I said, 'Okay'. Looking back, had I known the hurdles I would have to go through to get there, I don't know if I would have done it. But at the time, I didn't know what was in front of me."

"Every hurdle that was thrown up in front us - finances, the job, the plane tickets, the equipment it took to get over there, Kathy getting pregnant, having a small baby with two young children on top of that; all of those things God dealt with. He took away the fear and apprehension, knocked the doors down, and made it possible for us to go. I remember requesting a leave of absence a year before we left and having it denied. Well, Kathy got pregnant and we had to postpone the trip. During that time, the economic climate of the department changed. When it looked like we were finally going to be able go, I submitted again for a leave of absence."

"I can still remember the response in the Chief's memo. He said, 'My initial reaction upon receiving this request was to deny it. But due to the economic situation in California, we believe now that such a request should not only be granted, but encouraged.' It was like the Lord saying, 'You were willing to lay your job down. Now I'm going to give it back to you.'"

PMJ: You mentioned finances. What did you have to leave behind to go?

BRYAN: "We sold our cars. We sold the furniture in our house. We basically sold everything but the kids' beds. The hardest thing for me is when I sold my daughter's swing set. We packed up her swing set and she's crying, 'Daddy! Where are you taking my swing set?' That was really hard."

"We were supported by our church and friends outside the church - both financially and in prayer. We didn't have a huge financial base, but we had enough to survive. We had enough to rent a flat and to buy food. Our church supported us financially to get home. So we paid our way over there."

PMJ: How much did it cost your family to survive over there?

BRYAN: "Inflation over there is about 900%. We lived in Omsk, which is the 2nd largest city in Siberia with 1.4 million people. The inflation is eating Russians alive. It's incredible. It's heartbreaking when you see old women buying half loaves of bread because they can't afford a whole loaf."

"Our monthly expenses to live there were about $300-400 a month. That included our rent, food, bus passes and incidentals. But as inflation got worse, our money got eaten up just like the Russians' did."

PMJ: What were the conditions like?

BRYAN: "Omsk is a major transportation center. There is a major river and the Trans-Siberian Railroad runs through it. It's actually a very pretty city. There are some areas with beautiful gardens where you wouldn't even think you were in Russia."

"When we first got off the plane, we got our first glimpse of how the Russian people love children. If you have a small child over there, people will move heaven and earth for you. I think part of that is because of the harshness of their existence. They feel that as a person gets older, life becomes terrible, difficult, and hard. So, to a child between the ages of 1-5, they give everything."

"When we got off the plane, we had a lot of luggage and the three kids. But the Russians waited patiently for us. They helped us with the children. They made sure the children's clothing was on properly. They helped us with our luggage, and these were things that really blessed us."

"Those are things you won't see here. When my kids would get off a bus, their pockets would be full of candy. Now that we're back, I've had to teach my children that they can't take candy from strangers. But in Russia, that's okay. Poisoning a child in Russia is abhorrent. We would tell Russians that we could never allow our children to take candy from strangers because people sometimes poison children. That was something the Russian people couldn't relate to."

"I remember getting off the bus and looking at our first flat, our first apartment, and thinking to myself, 'Oh God. We've panicked and we've moved into the ghetto, because we couldn't find any place else to live.' Soon I learned that it all looks this way. Most Russians live in high-rise apartments that are made of a concrete construction and all look the same. It looked like the ghetto in a lot of ways. So the conditions are definitely different than we're used to."

"The Russians, for the most part, are raised, live and die in the same set of apartments. Everybody knows each other and it's a very close community. That's why it was hard when we moved in and then left. It was alike a death to a lot of them. In the past, the only time anyone left Russia was when they died. Nobody leaves. They even had passports that kept them from moving from city to city, let alone out of the country."

"Russians have food. At least in Siberia, I didn't see any food shortages. There was food inflation where people couldn't afford it. Most Russians have Dochas, which are summer homes where they grow their own food. The people helped us. We didn't have a Docha so people were always bringing us bags of food. They always thought we were going to starve. 'You Americans.' they would say. 'You cannot know how to shop!'"

"They were right in a lot of respects. If you wanted light bulbs, you would go to where they sell eggs. If you needed milk, you would go to where they sell toilet paper. You just never knew what you would find from day to day in the shops. You lived by the ethic of, 'If you see it, buy it.' Because if you go back the next day, it might not be there."

PMJ: How was it different witnessing to a Russian, as opposed to a Californian?

BRYAN: "Russians tend to be more relational in a lot of ways. In America we're busy, busy, busy. Russians tend to be very closed to the outside world. The 'Party' did that to them. Husbands and wives didn't trust each other because they never knew who might be KGB. But once you have made an inroad into a Russian's life, and have been accepted as a friend, the relationship grows deep and fast. Once they open up, there is a real trust and you're locked in. Russians tend to donate a lot of time to their friends because it's really the only thing they have."

"That's one thing that's been difficult for me coming back here. We're such a busy society. Time is such a premium. That's something both Kathy and I have tried to continue - the importance of relationships with our friends and family. It's something we learned over there."

"You have to remember, the Russians have lived with atheism for over 70 years. So we had opportunities to share the gospel that are unheard of in this country. We were invited share in public schools, high schools, elementary schools, colleges, and universities. Every place we went people wanted to know about Jesus. For 70 years it was forbidden and now there is a hunger."

"Russia is a nation of icons. They've always had something to worship. 70 years ago it was the Czar. During the last 70 years it was Lenin, Stalin, and Marx; and all of that has been swept away. Now you have a vacuum where nobody has anything to worship. Now the people are looking for something that is permanent and real. They have seen over the last 100 years that everything that has been put before them is not permanent. They've seen that each one has been stripped away and the truth came out that they were phony and false. So they're looking for something real, and that is something that can only be found in the gospel."

"Most of the time in the schools, it was the teachers who would say, 'Enough about America. What about Jesus?' It was mind boggling. While I was there, I wrote and organized a Christmas play for a public school. I remember walking into the school and hearing the children singing, in Russian and in English, 'Silent Night, Holy Night.' It was echoing down the hallway of this Russian school. I remember thinking 'Two years ago this would never have been possible. In fact, Lenin must be doing 360's in his grave.' I felt really blessed and honored to be a witness to that."

PMJ: Do you recall any one particular story of someone coming to Christ while you were there?

BRYAN: "Yes I do. Our translator was a guy named Demitri. He was a pretty hard headed guy. And he still is. He's a typical Russian male. He was a very unemotional, analytical, rough, bar fighter type of guy. His dad was a cop. In fact, his dad was an instructor ant the academy. He spoke English, so we hired him as a translator."

"He was not a Christian. He watched us. He watched all of the team members very closely. In Russia, everybody watches you. He would make comments to Kathy about how he noticed that I told her I loved her and would kiss her good-bye. Over a period of about four months he went to the meetings and translated every time we spoke in a school. He saw people coming to the Lord and saw lives changed."

"One night, after one of our meetings, he was walking home with us, and he said, 'I am ready. And I want to accept Jesus now.'"

"I asked him, 'Are you sure you want to do this?'"

"He said, 'Yes. I've watched. And I can see that this is the only true way to change my life. And I can see the love that comes from Christ.'"

"So in the living room of our flat, Demitri Antonovich got on his knees and asked Jesus into his heart. When it came to the part about confessing your sins I told him that he could do it in silence. But he said that he wanted to do it aloud. For the next five minutes he confessed his sin in Russian. It was very moving. Demitri is now leading a ministry and Bible study that we started together in a maximum security prison."

PMJ: Now that you're back, how does it feel to be a cop again?

BRYAN: "It's really kind of strange. I came back and opened my locker, and everything was still there. The shirt I wore the last night I worked still had creases in it. It definitely feels good. I have a sense of pride about the work I do. I worked hard to get this job. I feel real blessed to have the job that I do."

PMJ: Was there a particular verse or passage of the Bible that you clung to while you were in Russia?

BRYAN: "Now that I look back on it, there's a verse in Corinthians that says, 'For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.' (Corinthians 9:16)."

PMJ: What are your plans now?

BRYAN: "It's still a little soon to tell. We're still in transition. Right now, we plan to continue our support of the Russian ministries. We're going to keep supporting our friends and missionaries financially and logistically. We also want to try to generate excitement, not only for Russia, but for all cross-cultural missions. It's the great commission to preach the gospel. That means anywhere. It means your next door neighbor. It's wherever God has called you to. I don't think everyone has to pack up and go to Russia or China. But I do believe that everyone needs to go out and fulfill the great commission."

Bryan put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. It's one thing to encourage people to do something you are unwilling to do yourself. It's a far different thing to encourage people to do something that you have already done. We can all find encouragement in Bryan's story. And let us not forget the faithfulness of his wife Kathy; and their children, Jessica, Benjamin, and David. The rewards the White family has reaped from their journey are both temporal and eternal. What is so inspiring to me is that there is no doubt in my mind which rewards they cherish the most. Thanks Bryan!

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CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

Recently I went to a disturbance call where a homeowner was reporting that men were in her backyard trimming the trees without permission. (I wish they would do that in my yard.) As I drove there I was thinking, "This ought to be very interesting." I was the first to arrive and I could hear the distinctive sound of a chainsaw coming from the rear of the house. Even though I wasn't taking this call too seriously, I didn't want to confront anyone holding a chainsaw in his hands, so I stopped my car a few houses away to await the handling units.

I could see two women and a man standing in front of the house, glaring at me. Moments later the handling deputies drove up and we made contact with the little group. I found out first of all that they were really upset with me for not driving up to them immediately. As often happens in these types of calls, the police had become the focus of the hostility.

Ordinarily I tune people out when they act like this, but I felt the Lord was leading me to be compassionate and to listen to what they were saying. I separated the homeowner, Viola, away from the other two and learned that her backyard connected with the backyard of the house on the next street. Years ago, Mary, the owner of that house had put up a block wall dividing the two yards. Since there is a small hill in Viola's yard the wall had been placed about three feet inside of Mary's property line.

This setup gave Viola an additional three feet of space in her backyard. There are also several trees growing on her side of the wall, but since it is actually Mary's land, Mary had sent tree trimmers to cut down the overgrown branches. By now I was thinking, "Okay, you got extra land, a block wall and free tree trimming, so what's the problem?" Well, the problem was that Mary did not tell them it was tree trimming day and it was disrespectful to them. Huh?

Obviously there was more to this story that Viola was leaving out, so I sent for Mary. She met me at the wall and quietly told me of her hatred toward Viola and her family. Mary said that this was not a police matter. The land was hers and she could do what she wanted with it. If Viola didn't like it, she could put up her own fence. I tried to explain to Mary that maybe Viola had a perception that the land was hers and even though legally it wasn't, a good neighbor would make some sort of notification when workers were going to come over. Mary just stared at me and said, "Well I don't have to!"

The deputies had been patiently watching me and then said "Sarge, you're wasting your time. We have been her many times and these people hate each other." Since there were no legal issues to address, they asked if I would mind if they left to handle other calls. I told them they might as well since I was going to leave also.

Then it came to me. I had just learned that disputes such as this stem from spiritual warfare. This was no job for City Hall; this was a job for Jesus. The call was over though, and isn't it a conflict of interest to talk about religion on duty? I felt the Lord was leading me to tell these ladies about Jesus and forgiveness and reconciliation. I didn't know how to start so I asked Mary if she went to church. She looked puzzled and said that she did go to church and she was a Christian. I asked her if she would consider asking Viola to forgive her for whatever it was that may have started this hatred between them. Mary said that she couldn't do that and that she had done nothing wrong anyway. I asked her if she thought Jesus calls upon us to forgive others just as He has forgiven us. She said she knew that, but recognized that she could not do such a thing in her own strength and needed to pray about it. I asked her if she had been praying and she said, "No, sometimes it is easier just to brood." I promised to pray for her as she walked back into her house.

I went back to Viola and asked her the same question about church. I found out she was also a Christian and yet she was adamantly opposed to reconciliation even after she found out her "enemy" Mary was also a believer. Viola started yelling at me and threatening lawsuits so I decided to leave. Maybe the Lord had not been speaking to me after all and maybe there was a conflict of interest in my mentioning Jesus. To "cover my tracks" as best as possible I told Viola that I had tried to explain what she could do legally and what I thought Biblically she should do as a Christian. Since all she wanted to do was keep yelling at me, I was going to leave.

As I walked to the street Viola called to me to come back. She asked if I would walk with her to Mary's house. I agreed to and, arm in arm we walked to Mary's. When Mary answered her door she had the same puzzled expression I had seen earlier. I introduced her to her sister in the Lord. (Neither woman even knew the other's name before that, despite having been neighbors for over ten years.)

Viola asked Mary why she hated her so much. Mary was in tears as she told how several years ago there was a wooden fence separating the two yards. Because it was close to the edge of the hill in Viola's yard, the fence would often fall over on windy days, but Mary's husband would pick it up and fix it. After her husband died, Mary asked Viola's family to help her. They didn't, so Mary, feeling even more hurt, had the block wall built. Whenever issues concerning the property line came up, like trimming trees, it served as a painful reminder of the loss of her husband and the "betrayal" of her neighbors in her time of need.

Sadly, Viola's family had not helped because she had been chronically ill for many years and, at the time the fence fell down, she was in the hospital. Because of their own circumstances that they never explained to Mary, Viola's family had not been able to help her and the hurt had festered into hatred.

Viola asked for Mary's forgiveness and Mary apologized for her attitude as well. The three of us prayed together on Mary's front porch and, the two women declaring they were sisters in the Lord, hugged and cried. Both promised to help one another in the future and to be good friends and neighbors. The dispute that had been the subject of countless calls for service over the years was over. Jesus had brought healing and the Spirit of reconciliation.

Sometimes we fail to respond to the Lord's leading saying, "I'm not hired to preach. I'm not supposed to discuss religion on duty, it's a conflict of interest." By doing so, I think we quench the Lord's ability to use us. After I walked Viola home and drove away I felt so blessed that God had chosen to use me as a "Peacemaker." I realized that it is important to serve God and my Department. The conflict only comes from not doing both.

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FRIDAY THE 13TH... GOD'S WAY

"Promise Keepers 1994"

By Tony Miano

During the weekend of May 13th and 14th, I had the privilege of experiencing an awesome display of God's power and grace. I attended the Promise Keepers convention at the Anaheim Stadium. Promise Keepers is not just an organization - its a movement. I believe many will soon be calling it a Revival. Promise Keepers was begun some four years ago by Bill McCartney, the Head Coach of the University of Colorado football team. The goal of Promise Keepers is to bring Christian men together in this nation and to help them become the men of integrity that God wants them to be. After what I saw that weekend, I am convinced that God's hand is wrapped tightly around this ministry.

I went to the convention with 25 men from my church. We arrived at the stadium at about 4:00 P.M. The event wasn't scheduled to start until 7:00 P.M., but the stadium was already starting to fill. It was awesome to see men of every race and nationality, Christian denomination and walk of life gathering together with one common bond - Jesus Christ. It was every man for himself as far as seating was concerned. We managed to find seats on the field, behind home plate. They were a baseball fan's dream. But after what I witnessed on this particular weekend, it was obvious that where a person sat made no difference to what a person took away from the event.

The event began with worship which was led by the Maranatha! Men's Praise Band. These talented men of God led over 50,000 men in worship the entire weekend. I have never worshipped so much with so many in my entire life. Words are very difficult to find to describe being part of a 50,000 man choir. However, I will try to do so a little later.

Pastor Danny DeLeon and Reverend E.V. Hill were the speakers the first night. After a powerful message, Pastor DeLeon presented an alter call. Literally thousands of men answered the call and gave their lives to Jesus Christ and asked Him to be their Lord and Savior. I have seen several altar calls. My wife answered such a call several years ago... But I have never experienced anything like this. It started calmly enough with men getting up out of their seats and making their way down to the field and into center field. But as I looked around the stadium, thanking God for what He was doing, I saw something amazing. Many of the men who were answering the call were not walking from their seats. They were running. They were running to Jesus!

If you have never heard E.V. Hill preach, you don't know what you've missed. The theme of his message was "Say it again!" After sitting through an E.V. Hill sermon (if you can remain seated), it's natural to want to rush out and share Christ. You just "can't help it!" He also made mention of the fact that the conference was starting on Friday the 13th. He talked about how today's society has given Friday the 13th over to the devil by being superstitious and naming grizzly movies after the date. He said, "Friday the 13th doesn't belong to the devil. No day belongs to the devil. Every day is the day that the Lord hath made!" Enough said? This was definitely "Friday the 13th... God's way."

Saturday was exciting from start to finish. One nice surprise was that Dennis Agajanian decided to drop by and give a concert at lunch. During the morning session, Jack Hayford gave a sermon on worship. This was no ordinary sermon. We started by forming small groups and sharing personal prayer requests. Once that was done, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house by that point, Pastor Hayford brought us back together and led us in worship.

50,000 men worshipping together is one thing; but 50,000 men with their hearts open and bare before the Lord is something completely different. There were a couple helicopters overhead. The sounds of their rotors were completely silenced by the lifted voices. There is no doubt in my mind that there were at least 100,000 voices in that stadium Saturday morning. I'm convinced that there was an angel assigned to each and every man there. As I lifted my eyes to the sky, I had a picture of a group of angels standing around the very throne of God. I had a picture of a group of these angelic beings, who constantly witness God's awesome power, looking down on Anaheim Stadium with their jaws open. I believe the angeles were awestruck by the awesome outpouring of God's Holy Spirit. I have never experienced anything like it.

Chuck Swindoll opened the evening session by challenging each and every man to make a series of promises. The three promises were to honor and respect our parents, to love and accept our wives, and to nurture and be role models for our children. Imagine if you can 50,000 men holding hands and making these promises before God. Imagine if you can, 50,000 men raising their hands and solidifying those promises with worship to the Lord. I don't have to imagine. I was there! God continually made Himself evident throughout the weekend.

The conference was closed by Bill McCartney. He shared the continuing vision of Promise Keepers. He challenged every man there not only to be promise makers, but to be promise keepers. The last song of the conference was Amazing Grace. I looked down a few rows in front of where I was standing and saw a teenage boy weeping, his hands clutched in front of his face. I looked up at the large monitor set up in left field to see a close-up of the same boy. The boy was dressed in baggy clothes and a long knit cap. He was rather grubby looking and could best be described as one of the Beastie Boys. If I were to see this kid while on patrol, I would consider him a "good shake." But the Lord saw more than that in the young man. Much more. He saw a broken heart and a repentant spirit. He saw a child of God.

Before I knew it, every man in the stadium was standing and applauding this young man. The music had stopped and the band was applauding. I'm sure the angels stopped whatever they were doing and were applauding as well. Everyone in the stadium knew what they were witnessing. They were witnessing God's grace in action. They were not seeing a grubby teenager. They were seeing someone who had just been made whiter than snow. The Lord really pressed upon my heart that I need to look at all men as potential children of God; not just "good shakes." Amazing Grace became a much more meaningful song to me that night.

In 1995, Promise Keepers plans to fill the Rose Bowl with 100,000 men; with 1,000,000 men converging on Washington D.C. in the summer of 1996. I will be there. The men of my church will be there. It would be great if you could be there too.

I would like to thank Doug Sudbury for the time and energy he put into organizing and encouraging the men of our church, and lighting a fire under us to make the trip to Anaheim. I also want to thank my pastor, Jeff Steele, for leading the men of our church in prayer every Tuesday night to prepare our hearts for what took place in Anaheim. I'm very fortunate to have two such mentors in my life.

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Did That Really Happen?

The "Let's Rethink This Defense" Award

First place goes to Daniel O'Toole from Baltimore. The Good News: Last month, a judge in Baltimore County released Danny from a state hospital for violent criminals where he had been confined since 1986. Danny had made several petitions for his release. "Why?", you ask... The Bad News: Instead of confessing his guilt to a drunken driving charge, O'Toole had chosen to plead "not guilty by reason of insanity." Danny was sent to the hospital for an examination and found to be a "Danger to the community!" Mr. O'Toole had been in the hospital ever since.

Have You Voted?

A candidate running for Sheriff in Ulm, North Carolina, announced that he would be more effective at fighting crime than the incumbent, as he was "Criminally Minded." He was convicted of theft in 1983 and again in 1987!

The "Go Figure" Award

James G. Avallone was arrested by the Medford, PA Police Department and charged with several drunk driving related offenses. Avallone allegedly smashed into a tree and a lamppost, then dutifully drove to the Medford Police Station to report the accidents. However, he had no driver's license or registration and refused to take a blood-alcohol test.

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AROUND THE WORLD

Ghana, West Africa

By Dave McDowell

Several months ago, our POFC display booth was set up at Bethany Bible Fellowship's annual Mission Conference. Dave Jackson, a member of the church, approached me and asked if he could help Joseph Agyafi, a Police Chaplain in the Upper Volta region of Ghana. In one of his letters to POFC, Joseph had made known the need for hymnals and choir robes for the Ghana Police Church.

Hearing the need, Dave took it upon himself to pack a six foot long box full of hymnals and choir robes and have it shipped to Ghana. Several months later I received a letter from Joseph thanking us for this tremendous gift. Joseph also mentioned a short-term missionary team that had just visited from the Foothills Community Church near Denver, Colorado. I contacted Bryan Day, the pastor of that church, and learned that he and a team from his church had just returned from Ghana. Bryan told me that the team had conducted evangelistic crusades throughout Ghana. He said that Joseph Agyafi's Police Church in Upper Volta was the only church in Ghana that they had seen equipped with Hymnals!

The fact that Joseph put us in touch with Pastor Day is now also resulting in more contacts with police officers in the Denver area to be added to the POFC mailing list. We live in a small world!

Continue to pray with us that the Lord will use POFC to reach officers and their families with the gospel of Jesus Christ, both in the United States and OVERSEAS. We are exited to see officers, pastors, and laymen working together and challenging each other to increase their vision for a growing ministry.

 

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PEACE OFFICERS FOR CHRIST INTERNATIONAL's PURPOSE

Dear friend:
Many people ask, "What does POFCI do?' Well, I thought about that and basically the ad that we have placed in a number of police magazines says it all.

The ad reads, "POFCI is an international organization of peer support and we offer free police training to police departments: domestic and foreign." That's it. Now, of course there is a little more involved. Upon request, we offer the Peacemakers Journal, our POFCI magazine, which is written by peace officers for peace officers. We ask officers to look through our WEB page for current information about our ministry and to look for other Christian police organizations and dates of different Christian meetings.

We are an information-clearing house where peace officers can read about other Christian officers in our magazine, WEB page, and newsletter. We encourage Christian peace officers to meet other officers at breakfasts, retreats, and finally for coffee over the hood of a police unit. Here they can share their frustrations about the job, the media, the joys of the chase and joys of their family.

It is our desire to show the world and the law enforcement community that a peace officer can do the job and still be a Christian the Bible teaches. The basic principle that "Jesus loves me this I know," is a start of a growing relation with the living God, not a one-time membership. This is a growing, living relationship that continues to grow daily. Graduating from the academy did not make you a police officer. That was just the start. Everyday you are becoming a better cop: there are bad days; there are good days, and sometimes even marvelous days. The Christian officer realizes that each day, good or bad, in another day to serve the Lord.

So what is a Christian law enforcement officer to do? I will give you a few simple basic nuts and bolts principles on how to serve God:

1. Read or hear the Bible daily.
The closer to God you get, the more Christ-like you become.

2. Talk to God throughout the day.
Tell him your cares, worries and needs.

3. Worship God for who He is the giver of your every breath.
Thank him for giving you life.

4. Talk about Him with others.
Pick your battles, but standup for Moral and Ethical issues in conversations with coworkers at your department.

5. Stand up for what is right.
Be courageous and compassionate!

The POFCI board and I want to thank you for your interest in Peace Officers for Christ International. Please feel free to contact us with comments, questions, and inquiries.
In His Service,
Terry Hart
POFCI Outreach Director

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