The Strong Blue Line
Thanks so much for your support! Because of regular and one-time donors to The Strong Blue Line, copies of Winning a Gunfight are regularly given to officers across the country. If you don’t already do so, please consider supporting the ministry with a one-time or regular monthly donation. Also consider an order of at least five books so you can personally give them out. Books can be ordered, or you can donate here.
Last fall I visited Cop Church Chattanooga and was introduced to Paul Lee, a retired Chattanooga PD captain and the executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers (FCPO). Paul and I have the same passion to share the Good News with law enforcement officers. On March 13th I received an email reminder that the FCPO will hold their first annual fundraising dinner on March 26th, with special guest speaker Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. I contacted Paul and sent him 70 copies of Winning a Gunfight to ensure each couple at the dinner received a book. After the dinner Paul sent me a text saying he gave away more than half the books and they were greatly appreciated. I told him to keep the rest for ministry to officers there in the Chattanooga area and contacts he makes across the country.
Jimmy Meeks invited me to attend the Sheepdog seminar in Salt Lake City on March 17th. While there, I was able to reconnect with Jimmy, Carl Chinn, and Dave Grossman. My son Aaron went with me to promote the ministry. For the first time, Aaron heard Lt. Col Grossman speak and we both had the privilege to meet and hear Officer Greg Stevens (Garland PD, TX). You might recall that Officer Stevens is the officer who gunned down two heavily-armed terrorists and would-be assassins in May 2015. For his bravery he was awarded the Medal of Valor by President Obama. It was great to hear Greg is a man of faith and credits his victory that day to God and his training. Jimmy requested several books for officers who will be attending a Sheepdog seminar in Pleasant Hill, Iowa at Berean Assembly of God. I sent books for the conference.
My mom, who resides in Wilson County, TX, received a call from the Bexar (San Antonio) County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and asked if she has any copies of Winning a Gunfight available. Mom said she had ten copies and they were welcome to them. A deputy was dispatched to her home to get the books. A couple days later I received an order of 40 copies from the BCSO, thank you Sherriff Salazar!
Next month, the Pocatello (ID) Police Department is hosting a training conference for 70 police canine teams. I’d like to get a copy of Winning a Gunfight to each officer attending the conference. Please consider a donation. You can read the news article about the conference here.
Cop Church
At our last Cop Church service, we gave away copies Warriors for the Faith. A detective from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office told me he read Winning a Gunfight that was given to each deputy by local churches. He was very thankful the books were donated. When I mentioned the churches (Calvary Alliance and Marsh Valley Bible) that donated them a smile came to his face.
Rev. Jonathan Wiggins (the superintendent of the Rocky Mountain District of the Alliance and big Cop Church supporter!) invited Sherry and me to attend a three-day training seminar for new Alliance church plants in Temecula, CA. For us, the purpose of the training was two-fold: to help develop a plan to promote Alliance Cop Churches in the West; and to introduce Alliance district superintendents in attendance to Cop Church. I’m pleased to report the training was successful on both fronts. Not only did we receive great training from several seasoned church planters, we were also afforded the opportunity to introduce and promote Cop Church.
Dave Reynolds (the Alliance’s National Church Multiplication team leader) hosted the training, and he and his wife Eliana, provided keen insight into ministry development. Dave is also a big supporter of Cop Church and agrees it is a great avenue to connect officers across the country with each other and Christ. I strongly believe The Strong Blue Line and Cop Church ministries complement each other. Please pray with us to see where the Lord will open doors.
National Police Week is from May 13-19 please remember your police officers and pray for your police.
