Congratulations to these new GPS Life Journey graduates from SWFL.  Here's what they had to say about the two day weekend workshop they attended in January 2024.

"Hello, my name is Ananias and this weekend I participated in the GPS Life Journey process. My mission is to serve my community and wherever I go so that they will know the love of Jesus Christ. I really enjoy doing GPS. It allowed me to understand my strengths and my passions and learn more about myself so that I can, through God, utilize them and go and support my community and complete my mission.

Hi, my name is Germaine and I participated in the GPS Life Journey this weekend, with the great facilitator, Emily Miller.  I just praise God for the opportunity. I've learned, to put my strengths and abilities all in one place. I know that my mission is to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ, to as many people as I can.  And help inspire people into an authentic walk with Jesus Christ. I highly recommend that you do the same. God bless."

Over a Friday night and Saturday daytime, we take you through 8 sessions designed for:

1. Discovering My Personality
2. Discovering My Experiences, Abilities and Strengths
3. Discovering My Passions, Spiritual Gifts and Values
4. Discovering How to Get Direction from God
5. Developing My Personal Mission Statement
6. Developing My Personal Vision
7. Developing My Priority Action Steps and Venues
8. Developing Margins in My Life

We hold these weekend events in places like Bonita Springs, Naples, Estero and Fort Myers, in SWFL.  We recommend having a group of 8-10 people.  If you are interested in attending a GPS Life Journey event then please CONTACT us or check the EVENTS page to learn more about what is happening.

Linda and I formally proclaimed our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and joined this church. The Holy Spirit filled me with a thirst for His Word. Reading and studying the scriptures and meeting with other Christian men in small groups changed my spiritual life in a powerful way.

The Story Continues with GPS Life Journey and Prison Ministry 
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I knew that I had to share my new found faith with others. In 2018, I was introduced to prison ministry by a close friend, Roger Ciskie. Roger was already involved in prison ministry and was also familiar with GPS Life Journey through his friend, Nolen Rollins. I was immediately interested in knowing more about this prison ministry and how GPS Life Journey might help me determine if this would be God’s plan and purpose for my life.

I attended a GPS Life Journey class and found that God had prepared me to “share His love by proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, while performing acts of service for those in need.” I also became certified as a GPS Life Journey Facilitator.

I began to go with Roger Ciskie as he brought God’s Word to men in prison. I became convinced that prison ministry was a perfect fit for me and my mission to share God’s Love while proclaiming the Gospel. Since 2019, I have been certified in state prisons in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, as well as Coleman Federal Prison in Florida.

A Different Environment

My experiences have shown me that God is already at work in all these institutions and the men are hungry for His Word and especially for hope. However, there is a big difference in the makeup of the GPS classes that are typically given in a civilian setting and in those given in a prison environment.

The principal difference is that the students in prison are taken from a wide variety of faith groups or no faith at all and many sign up for a class without having the traditional Christian experiences and understanding of scripture. In prison you rarely have an opportunity to hand pick the men who will attend GPS as the opportunity to attend must be shared with all the men without discrimination. As you might imagine, this brings unique challenges to the GPS facilitator.

I usually spend the first session by proclaiming God’s Love, explaining the GPS Life Journey method of discovery and proclaiming the Gospel. It’s not uncommon to lose a few men rather quickly but I also find that the men who are already “born again” and walking in the Spirit are a big help to those who are struggling with understanding and may be new to the faith.

I have found that men who are in prison for life are just as interested in GPS, if not more so, than men who see themselves being released in a few months or a few years. It seems counter intuitive but men in prison for life desperately need HOPE and they find it in the promises of God to use them despite their past failures. They can live the “abundant life” that Jesus promised His followers.

GPS Life Journey helps the men discover their own unique God-given abilities, skills, and spiritual gifts and how God has uniquely created them. Their imprisonment is not a detriment and serves them well in reaching other men in similar circumstances. Since the venues available for service are greatly limited in the prison environment, I stress that the men have to find an area to serve that will be permitted by the prison administration or find an area of service in a ministry that is already active within their own institution.

The men understand that GPS Life Journey provides them a framework to assist them in discovering God’s plans that are unique to them. I challenge them to serve one another while sharing God’s Love with other men within their own sphere of influence.

The ability to follow up with the men and their own unique mission statements is very limited. When GPS Life Journey is completed my personal contact with them is generally over, as most prisons do not allow personal contact between volunteers and inmates.

However, in order to overcome this limitation, I have tried to establish “accountability partnerships” between men who have graduated from a GPS Life Journey class. I encourage the men to have weekly accountability meetings to go over their individual missions and the progress they are making in fulfilling their own action steps. This is about the only way for them to overcome obstacles and difficulties in continuing their journey to fulfill God’s plan for their lives.

GPS Life Journey has shown me a clear path to proclaim the Gospel while serving men who are imprisoned. It has brought me great joy and I am growing in Christ daily as I proclaim His Word to some of “the least of these.” GPS Life Journey has also been extremely successful in helping prisoners discover that God has a plan for their lives and gives them a sense of great hope that God will use them to accomplish His purposes for their lives, even in prison.

Robert Sandweg is a retired Navy Captain and a certified GPS Life Journey Facilitator.
(Story written by Robert Sandweg)

This month's video blog is asking the question, are you a faithful steward of your God given purpose?  Below is the transcript in case you prefer to read what is said.

"Nolen Rollins here with another Note from Nolen.  I'm sure you are aware that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are stewards of all that God blesses us with.  We're stewards of our time, our resources, and our abilities, and we're stewards of the God given purpose that God has for each of us. 1 Corinthians  4,  verse 2 says, "Moreover, It is required that as stewards, you be found faithful." 

Are you a faithful steward of the God given mission and purpose that God gave to you for the next stage of your life?  If you don't know what that purpose is, I suggest you start being a good steward by discovering what is God's purpose for the next stage of my life. And if you do know what that purpose is, if you are a graduate of the GPS Life Journey, then you should be aware of what is God's purpose for the next stage of my life? 

Let me encourage you, be a faithful steward.  You will have to give an account of how you are faithful in engaging in and fulfilling God's purpose for every stage of your life. If we can help you, let us know here at GPS Life Journey. God bless."