In my time in corrections and ministry I’ve visited over 100 prisons. I recently visited three more: Coffeewood Correctional Center in Virginia, E. C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Michigan, and the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. When we visit facilities to encourage the prisoners, there is a tendency to believe that we are the ones who will be a blessing to them. But on this trip I was reminded that the Church inside the walls has some things it could teach to the Church outside the walls.
At the worship service at Coffeewood, I was struck by the diversity within the assembly of Christians. There were Hispanics and blacks and whites worshiping together. There was a deliberate effort to embrace all cultures; the service was even translated simultaneously into Spanish. As a result, they had a greater diversity within prison walls than we often achieve on the outside!
At E.C. Brooks, we have a strong TUMI program, and the inmate-students have taken the lead in Christian witness and evangelism. They even made a special attempt to invite the Islamic community, and a sizable group attended. The Spirit of God moved, and we had about 10 people give their lives to the Lord that night!
Angola was once one of the most dangerous prisons, but it is now one of the safest. Many factors help account for its transformation, including the iconic personality of Warden Burl Cain. But an inmate pastor named Sydney also emphasized to me that prayer is key. When the inmates began to pray together, he said, violence dropped, and today there are 24-hour prayer chains going on all the time. How many of our churches have prayer lives so vibrant that they change the entire tone of our culture?
This week let’s join in prayer for our brothers and sisters behind the walls, and may our churches benefit from their example: worshiping as one, evangelizing the lost, and making fervent and effectual intercession before our Father.
Click here to give to Prison Fellowship’s programs supporting prisoners and their families.