Capitol Ministries

State Ministries | CM 2018 23 capital: Lansing population: 9,995,915 governor: Rick Snyder legislature: 148 Members Michigan State Capitol Dr. Dean Mathis Ministry Leader D EEP INTO HIS 6TH YEAR OF MINISTRY TO THE MICHIGAN STATE LEGISLATURE, DR. DEAN MATHIS IS ONCE MORE DEVISING WAYS TO USE TECHNOLOGY SO HE MAY PUT HIS LEGISLATIVE BIBLE STUDY IN THE HANDS OF MORE PEOPLE. Early in his ministry, Dr. Mathis discovered that his first ob- jective — to create a sit-down legislative Bible study — was dif- ficult in Michigan because the majority of legislators are from the Lower Peninsula and are able to commute to centrally-lo- cated Lansing every day. Undeterred, and with the help of a volunteer from a sup- porting local church, Dr. Mathis recorded his Bible studies on CDs so legislators could listen to them in their vehicles as they travel to and from Lansing. A rousing success, the Wind- shield Ministry was born and the demand for Bible study CDs has grown every year since 2013. One legislator told him that "all the chaos buzzing" in his head just goes away as he listens to the Bible studies on his drive home. A familiar face at the Michigan Capitol, Dr. Mathis receives telephone calls and is oen stopped on steps or in hallways by legislators who ask if he would please stop by their office to pray with them. is year, Dr. Mathis has recorded 15 Bible studies on CDs and distributed 762 of them to legislators, with an additional 150 to supporters and people who request them. But a new automobile design is threatening to make the Windshield Ministry obsolete as late-model vehicles no lon- ger offer CD players as standard equipment. Addressing that problem, Dr. Mathis is working with a volunteer to develop a podcast of his audio Bible studies so legislators may download them from his website and listen to them on any electronic de- vice on their drive home. Another volunteer is developing a separate app that provides easier access to the Bible studies from Dr. Mathis' website. e first version will offer audio only, but eventually, written Bible studies will be available for download. e developer is also working on a component that will offer a word-to-text feature. Technolog y is providing wide access, but even so, the val- ue of believers gathering together weekly to study the Word of God, to support, and pray together for each other cannot be minimized, and so Dr. Mathis is still working to fulfill his orig- inal objective to establish a formal sit-down Bible study in the Michigan Capitol. He hopes to finalize those plans next year. "e Bible gives us the mind of God and if we want to think straightly, we must study His Word. ese are people who have a lot of power in their hands. If they don't think straight, that power can be misused. And when they do think straight, that power can be helpful and beneficial in creating an orderly soci- ety which is God's intention for government." MICHIGAN Big Sable Point Lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan

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