JOHN REYES LOSES COURT BATTLE IN VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT

August 18, 1999

On August 12, we received word that our wonderful friend in Christ, John Reyes, had lost his challenge to an absolutely outrageous sentence in the Supreme Court of the State of Virginia. John was the student coordinator who, in November 1997, helped us organize over 300 students from Liberty University to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. For this heinous act and John's courageous stand for King Jesus, he was awarded a six-month jail sentence.

John has not been allowed to leave the State of Virginia for the past two years awaiting the outcome of his appeal. You will remember that there were no arrests made by the Lynchburg police when the students were at E.C. Glass. The police officers all commented on the orderly, well-behaved manner in which the Liberty students conducted themselves. It was only after school superintendent James McCormick convinced a grand jury that these students should be tried on misdemeanor trespass charges that we were brought to trial in Lynchburg. It was a fiasco!

It became very clear during the trial that the real problem was not our behavior at the high school but the content of our message that brought the true offense to Mr. McCormick. We had dared to say that his high school had become the very "gates of hell". This could not be tolerated and, therefore, I was privileged to serve several months in the Lynchburg City Jail. Now it is John's turn!

He has told me he is ready to do whatever is necessary to bring glory and honor to His Lord who despised the shame and hung naked on a cross for him. This is exactly what I would expect from John Reyes. He is a young man of courage and conviction who was hoping to finish his degree at Liberty this fall semester. If it is inevitable that John must go to jail in Lynchburg, it is imperative that he not go alone.

Please prayerfully consider joining us in Lynchburg to bring the Gospel of Christ to the gates of hell. More information to follow soon.