In 1998, Steve Ridenour, a newly ordained minister with a mission, formed For Him Ministries not fully knowing what God had planned for him. Steve began visiting churches sharing his testimony to thousands of people in South Texas and preaching the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
In 1999, shortly after the annual March For Jesus, Steve and a brother in Christ, were discussing the size of the crowd that participated in the march. They talked about how awesome it would be for someone to plan and organize a Christian concert event. That day was the day that For Him Ministries took off in a planned direction. For Him Ministries along with a dozen or so volunteers began working on Jesus Praise 1999, an all day Praise and Worship event and festival that has since become an annual event held each October in Mathis, Texas.
After the success of Jesus Praise 1999, For Him Ministries and a staff of volunteers began taking Christian concert events to towns and cities throughout South Texas and traveling as far west as Sonora, Texas, ministering to crowds as small as a dozen and as large as 2500. Over the years we have seen our ministry efforts bring thousands of people into the family of God.
For Him Ministries goes to towns and cities and set up their ministry on neutral ground such as city parks, baseball fields, etc. They bring 4 or 5 Christian bands, an evangelist, and plenty of free refreshments to feed the masses. Throughout the day there is plenty of free Christian music, free food and soft drinks, games and activities for the kids, Christian fellowship, and the Gospel message of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
At a board meeting in the summer of 2005 it was decided that For Him Ministries would begin holding twice-a-month services in Mathis called Church Without Walls. August 18th, 2005 the first Church Without Walls service was held at a location given to us by Dennis Crawford, owner of the Care Pharmacy chain of pharmacies. Since that first service we have continued to hold Church Without Walls services at 200 E. Rockport St. in Mathis, Texas on the 1st and 3rd Saturday evenings of each month (weather permitting), bringing praise and worship groups of all genres, and Christian pastors of different Christian denominations to bless our services.
In 2006, the directors of For Him Ministries discussed the need to get 501(c)3 non-profit status for the ministry. After unsuccessfully trying to incorporate the For Him Ministries name it was decided to form The Jeremiah Group, Inc. Finally in April 2009, after several years of having to deal with and satisfy the requests of the Internal Revenue Service, The Jeremiah Group, Inc. was given official non-profit 501(c)3 status. Once we received our non-profit status our Board of Directors agreed to cease the use of the name For Him Ministries and operate solely under the name, The Jeremiah Group.
The Jeremiah Group will continue in the direction given to us back in 1999. In fact The Jeremiah Group will be even busier fulfilling what Jesus told His disciples to do in Mark 16:15 when He said "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." (NLT)
We stand in belief with Rev. Billy Graham in believing;
The "message" of the Gospel never changes - and for good reason: God never changes, and neither does our basic spiritual need nor His answer to that need. But the "methods" of presenting that message do change - and in fact they must change if we are to keep pace with a changing world. If we fail to bridge the gap between us, and those we hope to reach, our message will not be communicated, and our efforts will be in vain.
From "Just As I Am, The Autobiography of Billy Graham", HarperCollins, 1997; pg. 635
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The Jeremiah Group, Inc. is a non-profit 501c(3) Christian organization formed to support the