Francis Chan, a nationally known author, speaker, and pastor, volunteered to speak at a Prison Fellowship yard event this past Easter weekend.
Chan encouraged hundreds of men at Valley State Prison in California to have faith that God can transform them and use them to do great things for His Kingdom.
Through his involvement with prisoner reentry in San Francisco, Chan has seen, firsthand, this transformation take place.
He recalls one particularly poignant experience: “I was just walking down the street one day and a guy from a halfway house … recognized me … We started talking, and I started understanding his life and what it’s like to try to get back into the world after seven years of being gone.”
Chan saw a man with a wife, three kids, no job, and nowhere to live. But in this same man’s eyes, Chan also saw joy and a sense of peace that the Lord would provide. He saw the Holy Spirit alive in him.
Chan decided he would walk alongside this man and encourage him as a brother in Christ. Chan helped him find an apartment and get a job. And now, two years later, this man is a pastor, running Chan’s ministry in San Francisco.
“We got a whole house that is all about discipleship and getting guys that are coming out of prison and giving them just that little chance, getting a job,” says Chan. “I really believe that if we would just give some of these guys the opportunity, they’re going to be amazing pastors and leaders.”
In the above video, Chan takes a moment to share with Prison Fellowship what he loves about prison ministry and why he encourages others to join him in this ministry, too.
If you would like to be a part of ministry to men and women inside the prison walls, please consider making a financial gift to Prison Fellowship. Your gift allows us to take the Gospel to prisoners alongside partners like Francis Chan. And right now, thanks to a special fiscal year-end matching grant, your gift will be doubled to make twice the impact. Together we can help restore so many men and women to their families, their communities, and to their Heavenly Father.