Al Diemer, 75, stands for a portrait in his shop on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 in McBain, Mich. He’s owned and operated Vogel Center Ag-Repair as his day job for 45 years. Deeply invested in his Christian faith, he’s volunteered with Missaukee County Jail Ministries for 45 years and has since become the group’s lead coordinator.
Planting the Seed: Finding strength through belief
LAKE CITY – Every Sunday, they meet in the name of God.
Cued, not by a church bell, but the clang of an iron door.
Their pews, plastic chairs. Their chapel, the Missaukee County Jail day room.
Their leader, Al Diemer, 75, is not a pastor. He’s actually an agricultural equipment repairman, working out of his Vogel Center shop for the past 45 years. And for about that much time, he’s also volunteered with the Missaukee County Jail Ministry – a coalition of 11 churches in and around Missaukee County that take turns conducting Sunday service for the people behind bars at the jail.
The program was inspired by similar work the founder Jacob Quist saw in Detroit. In the 1970's, he approached the Vogel Center Christian Reformed Church in McBain with the idea, and by 1984 it grew to the cooperative it is today.
Jacob has long since passed, and Al took on the role as lead coordinator for the ministry. He conducts most of the communication between the volunteers and the jail, creates the rotation schedule every year and plans the group’s annual meeting.
Don Hoitenga, 81, poses for a portrait at his Lake City home on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
Don presents the special bible he provides to the people behind bars upon their completion of bible study courses at the Missaukee County Jail on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Hoitenga has been involved with jail ministry for about 20 years, he estimated.
Don Hoitinga, 81, estimates he’s been involved for about 20 years - both through the jail ministry and Gideons International, an organization that works with Christian businesses, professionals and churches to spread the faith.
“God created us all and he loves us all very much,” Don said when asked why he joined the jail ministry. “And I think there’s situations where people need to hear that, that they’re loved and that people do care for them.”
Through his work with Gideon, Don is able to provide Bibles for the people behind bars at Missaukee County. He also conducted weekly Bible studies on Thursday nights until they were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately in 2020, he also suffered a stroke that impaired his vision, forcing him to step back from the weekly Bible study even after the pandemic restrictions were lifted. To slow down, he join the 11-week rotation with the jail ministry.
According to Al, this isn’t a unique experience.
Most of the two-person teams are in their 70’s and 80’s, while the youngest are still 50-60 years old. With natural limitations or health problems, “basically it’s our age that makes us quit,” Al said.
And recruitment among younger generations has proven difficult. Anyone they have recruited that’s younger hasn’t stuck around for more than a year or so, he said.
But Al keeps going, because he knows the work is important, as resources for the area are scarce.
"There's quite a bit of poverty in Missaukee County," he said. "But it's more out of sight, out of mind."
The ministry has tried to fill the gaps that contribute to recidivism and ease the reentry process, but because the group runs on volunteers, they don’t have the infrastructure or funding to provide something like transitional housing - a cause they did attempt to pick up in a collaborative effort with Friends Ministry, but which ultimately fell flat.
So for now, they focus on the mission they’ve had from the beginning: sharing the word of God.
Mark Mortenson, 81, poses for a portrait at the Lake City Christian Reformed Church on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Mortenson estimates he has been involved with jail ministry for about 30 years.
Mark Mortenson, a volunteer from Lake City Christian Reformed Church for over 20 years, knows that interest doesn’t always last upon release.
“It’s more of a seed planting ministry than a harvest ministry,” he said.
Don echoed similar sentiments.
“I'm looking for the Christian impact, but if nothing else to give them encouragement while I’m there,” he said.
For individuals like Britney Ochko, their work did exactly that.
Britney’s journey started about six and a half years ago when she was attacked by a dog. Never having substance use issues before, she was prescribed opioids for pain management, and it quickly spiraled.
Opioids were replaced by methamphetamines, which graduated to heroin, she said.
In 2016 she was arrested for the first time for possession of methamphetamines. She lost custody of her three kids and went to jail.
Upon release, she went to rehab and was getting back on her feet, even getting her own house. However, when she struggled to regain custody of her kids, she relapsed and was sent to jail on a probation violation. Then, when both of her brothers died in 2021, she relapsed again.
This led to the second arrest for possession and her 365-day sentence – a sentence she filled with self-reflection, healing and religion.
“It’s helped me out a lot,” Britney said. Sunday services gave her something to follow and a community to look forward to once she was released.
Britney was released to a 90-day treatment program in November 2023.
The October before, she was looking forward to leaving the past behind her.
“I want my kids to be proud of me,” Britney said. “I want my kids to see that I went through an addiction, and I can get through it, no matter what it is.”
That’s exactly what Al hopes people get from the jail ministry, too.
“Believe it or not, the majority of people have the attitude of, ‘Well they belong in jail for what they’ve done, so let them be in jail,’” he said. “We believe in trying to change their lives so they don’t repeat the experience.”