ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–Angola Prison in Angola, La., is one of the largest prisons in the United States. On 18,000 acres of former plantation land, more than 5,000 men repay their debt to society. Many of the men will die on these grounds because they received life sentences for their crimes.
Recently, churches from all over Louisiana came together to hold a weekend revival to support the churches inside Angola that operate with inmate chaplains. Many men made spiritual decisions, with some being saved and others recommitting their lives to serve Christ. Other men needed someone to listen to their stories. Some men just wanted prayer.
I learned to witness in a much smaller prison in south Mississippi. I was blessed to have a Christian businessman befriend me and take me with him to the prison. He knew I wanted to see many people come to faith in Jesus. He gave me that opportunity as we visited the men in the lock-down unit every Thursday.
One particular Thursday, I met “John.” John was in prison for a drug charge. He told me he hadn’t been selling drugs, but that he knew drugs were being sold from the house where he lived. If the police came, he knew he would be charged with distribution. The police did come and John was convicted of possession with intent to distribute.
In prison, he was a leader of a gang. Protecting his turf, John got in a fight with another inmate. That’s what landed him in the lock-down for 30 days.
John and I had an acquaintance in common. As we swapped stories about our hometowns, I asked him a question, “What have you been doing with the Lord, lately?” He responded by saying, “Not much.”
We spent about 20 minutes talking about how a person can have eternal life. John grew up in church and knew most of the information already. When I asked if he would like to start a relationship with Jesus, he surprised me. He said, “No.”
When I asked why he didn’t want to begin a relationship with Jesus, he made a profound statement. John said, “I’ve lied to my friends. I’ve lied to my family. I’m not about to start lying to God.”
I told him he could ask Jesus to be his Savior and Lord whenever he felt God convicting him of his need for a relationship with Jesus.
The next Thursday, I approached John’s cell. He met me at the bars with a smile so broad that it almost touched both of his ears. He said, “Pastor, I tried to wait for you to pray with me, but I couldn’t stand it any longer. Last night, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to be my Lord and Savior.”
John started leading Bible studies when he got out of lock-down. He led several men to faith in Jesus. The last time I saw him, he had become a trustee at a county jail and was about to be released from prison. He told me he wanted to share his story with young people so they wouldn’t have to go through the same horrors that he did. I pray he did just that.
The church needs to lead the charge in reaching out to prisoners. If we want true reform to occur in prisoners, we would be wise to start with moral reformation.
Jesus described the righteous as people who are willing to visit prisoners. He said, “I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40).
Help a prisoner see Jesus and you will see the Truth set someone free indeed.
–30–
Keith Manuel is an evangelism associate on the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s evangelism & church growth team.
