2016 marks the 40th anniversary of Prison Fellowship. Throughout the year, we will be sharing some reflections and stories about the history of the ministry, as well as some thoughts by our founder, Chuck Colson. The following story describes an encounter Chuck shared with a prisoner in Atlanta.
Chuck Colson loved to tell the story of his visit to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, which, at the time, was gripped by organized crime.
“After my talk,” Chuck recalled, “men flooded forward. Among them was a man known as Joe the Butcher. As you can imagine, he didn’t get his name from working in a meat market. Joe was a well-known Mafia ringleader.
“‘Mr. Colson, I’m going to do something I ain’t never done before,’ he said. Joe and several of his ‘colleagues’ encircled me. Joe put his big, beefy hand on my shoulder … and apologized.
“He said he had told his pals that I was a phony and not to listen to what I had to say that night. ‘Well, Mr. Colson, I was wrong,’ he said. ‘You are our friend, and so is Jesus.’“
And then the Butcher prayed for Christ to enter his heart. Many of his buddies followed suit. In fact, more than 100 men came to Christ that night.
The Holy Spirit is still active in prisons today. A hardened gang leader converted in his solitary cell comes out of prison to pastor a church. A man who had not seen his daughter in nine years, reconciled through Angel Tree.
Scenes like this are being repeated daily. People are seeing God’s kingdom made visible—even behind bars. To learn how you can support Prison Fellowship and help keep Chuck Colson’s legacy alive, click here.