Before receiving Jesus, Jesse led a fast life which consisted of drinking, fighting, women and drugs. In December of 1973, Jesse went to Tennessee for the Christmas holiday and planned on spending it just like he always did - getting drunk! He had also planned on bringing back a load of drugs on his trip home to Illinois. Instead Jesse brought back the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and he was never the same after that. A few years later God told Jesse to go into the jails and prisons to tell the inmates that Jesus loves them this is how Jesus is the Way Ministries was birthed.

Because of Jesse’s persistent determination, thousands of men and women, who sometimes are considered dregs of society, have heard the message of the Kingdom of God. Jesse went where few were going, taking television cameras into the institutions, interviewing men and women in prison, testifying of the power of God to save the uttermost. As a result of his persistence, the name Jesse Mathes is synonymous with prison ministry. With his passing in June of 2008, Jesse left a living legacy that the diligent pursuit of the vision God gave for Jesus is the Way Ministries would make the impossible, possible.