At Prison Fellowship, one big thing gets us out of bed in the morning: witnessing the transformation of prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families through the saving love, truth and power of Jesus Christ. And for 35 years, we’ve consistently found that this transformation takes places most powerfully when the local Church is equipped and excited to make disciples behind bars.
That’s why it’s so energizing every time we hear that a leader of a local church has made a startling discovery – that pastors (and their congregants) have a place in prison. Matt Doan, the local outreach and young adults pastor at Calvary Chapel Santa Ana, made his first trip to prison on a recent Saturday morning when he went to help inmates register their children to receive Christmas gifts and the Gospel through Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program. He writes about the experience at Orange County Pastor.
He derived some powerful insights from his eight hours with prisoners, including the following highlights:
“Prisoners are people, too … Not that I didn’t see my share of guys with 25-inch biceps and tattoos covering their faces, or feel the racial tension in the yard … But I also saw men who looked lonely, who seemed worried and stressed about their families outside the prison walls, and men who were simply trying to turn a terrible experience into something positive in their lives and in the lives of others. In other words, what I saw in prison is like a lot of what I see outside of prison: humanity, struggles, hopes dreams, failures, joy and grief.”
“There is a strong hunger for God in prison inmates. There is a saying, that everyone finds God in army foxholes and jail cells … but I also had deep conversations with guys yesterday that made me realize that God is present and active and changing lives in prison. ‘Terrel’ is a former gang leader in South Los Angeles, serving a life sentence for murder. He told me, ‘Matt, most of the guys that are in here swear they are innocent, but I know what I did was wrong and that I deserve to be punished.’ He told me how he thanks God that he was put in prison, because that is what it took for him to wake up and turn his heart toward Jesus Christ … God is working in prison, just like he is working in your neighborhood and in our cities. There is no place, no matter how dark or hopeless, where God’s light and God’s hope can’t break through.”
And finally, “…Churches need to get more involved in prison … I admit this is a tough sell to churches. No church wants a flood of guys straight out of prison showing up at their doors with all kinds of needs and baggage. But the Church is not a country club for saints, but a hospital, for broken, bleeding and messy people.”
After spending his first Saturday in prison, Matt can’t wait to go back. Want to join him? Let Prison Fellowship get your started. Go to www.prisonfellowship.org/getinvolved .