How we began:

Jarod Hubbard was first arrested at the age of 15. From then, he spent the next 17 years in, and out of prison for everything from stealing cars and guns, to selling drugs. In 2011, Jarod was convicted and sentenced (by the state of Mississippi) to serve 10 years in a medium-security prison and in 2013, through the KAIROS ministry, Jarod found God and committed his life to Christ. Jarod’s commitment began a journey, discovering the power and grace of our Father. The original (ten-year) sentence he faced included four years of parole (within the ten-year sentence) and, with good behavior, the sentence was reduced to two years of parole. Upon release from prison and starting parole in 2014, Jarod began working to salvage the “good” parts of his life, with his new focus on pleasing the Father. Before Jarod’s release he prayed and asked God to help him find a suitable facility to serve his parole, as he did not want to fully release back into the world. Jarod wanted to keep cultivating his relationship with God, without facing the world’s distractions. Through prayers and upon release, a Christian facility accepted Jarod’s application. He went to stay at Branch of Hope (while serving as a spiritual leader) for five months, beginning in April of 2014 (where he first began authoring devotions) and ending in August of 2014, when Jarod was accepted to attend Southeastern Baptist College. Jarod was married to Cassie in 2016, the same year he completed his parole. After earning his degree in 2017 and working alongside the (near-to-his-heart) KAIROS ministry, Jarod played a role on cook teams and was hand-selected for events with inmates. He was led to continue his writings of encouragement for those facing the same issues he faced, while leading youth groups with his wife at their local church, and working to help alcoholics and addicts in their community.

Until July of 2022, Jarod was unable to visit the inside of any facility (as he was a prior offender), though he continued writing daily messages of encouragement and devotion, hoping to (one day) be able to hand out the devotions for others’ sake. In July 2022, Burrell Caine helped pass the right of prior offenders to reenter detention facilities as visitors, this meaning Jarod was (and is now) able to pass out the devotions he writes to those that can benefit from them!

I (Matthew (Matt) Matrick) became an automotive mechanic after graduating high school. I spent a few years in the shop and decided to go to college and become an engineer. God has always watched over me, even if I experienced my own variable seasons in life. In 2018, (with just one year of college left) I had a terrible motorcycle accident, leaving me in a coma with substantial injuries and an 8% chance of survival (12% chance I woke up from the coma and 18% chance of not being a “vegetable” for the rest of my life). I am now grateful to God for the experience. The recovery was held with commitment to not simply go back to school, it was commitment to graduate school. After the wreck, I was given an internship, followed by job offers, despite the predicted 92% chance of failure. I believe the miracle I was given was so I can tell you my story, now. I have devoted these now-gifted days to sharing the truth of God. In 2020. I began an internship at the same company as Jarod, where I had to be a professional, although I was still a biker and, in my internship, I saw Jarod’s tattoos and beard and knew we would be buddies.

Jarod and I became good friends while sharing our own walks with God. I finished my internship in 2019 and went back to graduate college in May 2020. After graduation, I was offered a job with the same company as my internship at the same facility as Jarod. After finding out Jarod sent devotions out to people every morning, I made sure Jarod added me to his list. I would read them and ask Jarod for his inside perspective on the devotions, offering my own help or opinions (every now and then) from my own studies and the seeds of the friendship were thus fertilized by God, only to grow into a brotherhood, committed to sharing God’s love for us, with others. We began working together on the devotions, with the goal of sharing them with others.

We’ve been working to write and edit 365 of these devotions to place in a book for a one-year devotion, intended to give to prisoners, though suitable for anyone! The book is titled "Growth Through Scripture ~365~".

In September 2022, we started “R.E.F.O.R.M.E.D. Ministries” in the state of Mississippi as a nonprofit organization. Our vision is to spread the message of Christ and the works of God with anyone and everyone.