I was in prison...but they left me out again.
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| The only picture I was allowed to take. |
What if you could equip a church in a town of 1200-1300 people? That's what we attempted to do last weekend when I volunteered with the Light of Hope Rebound seminar with several other men.
Going into prison is always intimidating. You think you need to empty your pockets when you go through airport security? Try entering a prison!
So what's it like? It's a little taste of Heaven. We worshiped with brothers from all sorts of nationalities and backgrounds. It wasn't quite the way I am used to worshipping. Perhaps you are used to a band in church, I am not. :) But that's OK.
When you think of prison ministry you think of going behind the bars and "ministering" to the people who are stuck there, perhaps lead someone to Christ and explain the Gospel to him for the first time. While that may happen, that was not my experience this time. I was challenged, blessed, and I am still processing some of the things I learned in the seminar.
There were about 30-50 men who appeared to make up the core of the church behind the bars. They told us that normal attendance on a Sunday service was in the 100-150 range. The men I met were men on fire. They glowed! I think if you would have turned out the lights, it would have been well lit.
This seminar was organized as a follow up to the spring crusade organized by Light of Hope Evangelistic Ministry. Amos Stoltzfus was the main speaker although the volunteers had the opportunity to share.
Why was I so blessed and challenged? When you really stop and think about it I am really no different than these men. They are sinners and so am I. They face challenges and so do I. They fail and so do I. But here they were, serving the Lord with all of their hearts in a very difficult and dangerous environment. Wow!
Pray for these brothers! They have goals for reaching the lost both around them and outside the fence.
Going into prison is always intimidating. You think you need to empty your pockets when you go through airport security? Try entering a prison!
So what's it like? It's a little taste of Heaven. We worshiped with brothers from all sorts of nationalities and backgrounds. It wasn't quite the way I am used to worshipping. Perhaps you are used to a band in church, I am not. :) But that's OK.
When you think of prison ministry you think of going behind the bars and "ministering" to the people who are stuck there, perhaps lead someone to Christ and explain the Gospel to him for the first time. While that may happen, that was not my experience this time. I was challenged, blessed, and I am still processing some of the things I learned in the seminar.
There were about 30-50 men who appeared to make up the core of the church behind the bars. They told us that normal attendance on a Sunday service was in the 100-150 range. The men I met were men on fire. They glowed! I think if you would have turned out the lights, it would have been well lit.
This seminar was organized as a follow up to the spring crusade organized by Light of Hope Evangelistic Ministry. Amos Stoltzfus was the main speaker although the volunteers had the opportunity to share.
Why was I so blessed and challenged? When you really stop and think about it I am really no different than these men. They are sinners and so am I. They face challenges and so do I. They fail and so do I. But here they were, serving the Lord with all of their hearts in a very difficult and dangerous environment. Wow!
Pray for these brothers! They have goals for reaching the lost both around them and outside the fence.
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