Miller’s creation of Timothy’s Gift is a Christmas miracle

One might wonder what a prisoner in a jail cell thinks about when Christmas season arrives.

Is there joy, or does sorrow and regret smother any possible glad tidings?

Thanks to the organization Timothy’s Gift, people in prison are being given a new lease on life, a chance for forgiveness and a reason to look forward to life outside of the bars that currently hold them back, and this Christmas they are being presented with a Christmas program that has changed many lives over the past year.

Through Timothy’s Gift, a prison ministry began with the compassion of one man who felt led to make a difference.

That man was Holmes County native Ron Miller, and a moment touched by God has led to an organization sweeping through prisons to celebrate Christmas with the message of faith and hope shared with prisoners.

Watching television, Miller, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, was mesmerized by a story on NBC Dateline about a young boy, Timothy Kane.

Kane was one of several juveniles who invaded a home to rob it. In the process the two other older boys killed the wife of the home while a frightened 14-year-old boy hid under a table. Despite having never touched the women, Kane was sentenced for murder as an adult and given a life sentence for his involvement.

Miller eventually met Kane and built a relationship. Miller said his initial assessment of Kane was this was a young man with a spirit of humility and hope, even in the face of his circumstances.

An idea began to percolate in Miller’s mind, and a prison ministry was born. A ministry team was formed, and immediately Timothy’s Gift began making an impact. Today, more than 35,000 prisoners have heard the word of God and the message of hope.

“Tim’s story touched my heart, and I felt led to look into a ministry that would touch the lives of people like Tim who were incarcerated,” Miller said. “There are many inmates serving time whose hearts are open to hearing the word of God that speaks to their hearts through people who aren’t judging them but accepting them as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Miller spent more than three decades working with and scheduling music and speaking events and engagements for Christian artists and speakers. Then Timothy’s Gift grabbed hold of his heart, and it hasn’t let go.

“What I’ve done the past 14 years through Timothy’s Gift has far exceeded anything I’ve ever done,” Miller said. “We’re seeing lives transformed and hope being instilled in people’s lives in ways that we never imagined.”

The ministry has evolved over the years and gone from sharing the gospel to adding plenty of music from talented professionals.

“Being from Nashville, it made sense to implement the music side of worship into what we were initially doing with the prison ministry,” Miller said. “We put together a 90-minute program where we played everything from pop, country and Motown to R&B for the first half. Then we transitioned to gospel and faith-based music, and it became a real blessing throughout our tours.”

The message the ministry hopes to share is simple: Not only does God love each person, but also there are people willing to love these prisoners as who they are and the future they can have and not judge them on what they have done.

Current Timothy’s Gift Pastor David Lawson speaks at many of the prison ministry’s sessions. Lawson was one of those prisoners whose life was transformed by the ministry.

Lawson said when he was placed in prison, he became angry with God, praying to him every night with one plea. “I asked that God not let me wake up in the morning,” he said.

Then came a visit from Timothy’s Gift. Lawson wasn’t going to attend, but the old inmate in the bed next to his implored him to do so.

“He physically pulled me off the bunk and made me get in line with him,” Lawson said. “I had no idea who Timothy was or what his gift was.”

It was then the music and the message started knocking on Lawson’s heart and the hardness began to crack.

“It was everything I could do to fight back the tears that were coming,” Lawson said. “I didn’t want these guys to see me crying.”

But the tears came, and the message was received.

“By the grace of God, I was standing in front of Ron Miller,” Lawson said. “I expected humiliation in return. Instead, he looked me straight in the eyes with a look I hadn’t seen for six months. I had been looked at with disgust, pity, sorrow, but never with absolute love. He looked me right in the eyes and treated me like a real person. Then he reached out and hugged me. That hug was like my moment of communion. I experienced the love of God through Ron at my worst point in life.”

That moment changed the trajectory of Lawson’s life. Hope re-entered his heart and mind, and he became a new man. He began a journey that led him through prison and back into the ministry with Timothy’s Gift.

To learn more, visit Timothy’s Gift at www.timothysgift.com, where there are ways to support the ministry and even help sponsor the upcoming Christmas tour.