I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

— Matthew 25:36

John Schmid is the founder and director of Common Ground Ministries. It is based in Berlin, Ohio, with a focus on prisons in the Ohio Corrections System. In a typical year, John ministers in more than 50 prisons, 30 churches, four to five camps, six evangelistic crusades, 40 banquets, a street fair or two, several weekend seminars,as well as numerous concerts and living rooms.

Common Ground Ministries provides Bibles, as well as Gospel Echoes Correspondence Bible Study Courses to prisoners in the Ohio system at no cost to the prisoner or the system.

A unique blend of country/folk/gospel with a touch of the contemporary, has gained John audiences in a wide variety of settings, including prisons, embassies, high schools, rest homes, churches, army bases, concert halls… His honest, genuine voice is easy to listen to and his message reaches everyone through truth, humor, true life stories, a love for people, and a wide selection of songs.

He has sung in over thirty different countries. He often takes work/mission trips, mainly to Central America, not just to help the Latin American Church, but to get our local Christians off the bench and into the game.

John and his family are members of Mennonite Christian Assembly, Fredericksburg, Ohio, and reside in Benton, Ohio. His three grown children live in the Shenendoah Valley area of Va.

What we believe…

The only common ground that man has with God is at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. CGM also seeks to find common ground between the church and the man on the street through “non-church” type concerts and programs that contain a witness of Christ woven in the program through personal testimony and appropriate songs.

The Bible: The inspired, authoritative, infallible Word of God.

The One True God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Man: Made in God’s image; separated from Him by sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ: Fully God and fully man; He was born in a manger, lived a human life, was crucified (died), rose from the dead, ascended to the Father and is coming again. He is the only solution for sin.

The Holy Spirit: Convicts the world of sin; empowers believers in the Christian walk.