Prison Life

A firsthand account of how prison ministry can
change the hardest hearts.

            It is a typical Thursday night at the prison.  Through groups of cursing men come a bunch of inmates carrying Bibles.  It is time for LifeWay Bible College classes at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Kentucky to begin. 

I work with confined people all the time.  Some are in nursing homes, but tonight I am in a prison.  They call me Brother Brent, and I have the privilege to teach and preach to this unique congregation of men.  Some people might question this ministry because they think that this is the bottom of the barrel.  I would respond by telling them that the tough demeanor that these men exhibit on the ‘yard’ does not reveal the changes that have been made in their hearts because of Jesus Christ.

            What is this ministry like?  Is this just a con game, or are these men really changed through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word?  The best way to answer this question, and tell you about this ministry is to explain it through the lives of some of the men that I know and work with.   I would like to introduce you to Ronald, Adrian, Leo, Mike and Fred (not their real names).

            I first met Ronald after a Sunday Chapel service.  He came forward asking to be prayed with.  Ronald had just become a Christian and his cellmate would not let him study his Bible.  He would normally break this fellow in two and go about his business, but he knew that Jesus did not want him to do that.  We prayed against the spirit of darkness that made his roommate such a problem, and we asked the Holy Spirit to give Ronald strength to show the love of Christ to this fellow. 

I figured that if Ronald was in the Chapel service next week that God had had the victory, if not Ronald would be in solitary confinement.  Ronald was at the next Chapel service, and we praised God together for his victory over anger.  This problem continued for four more months.  Ronald showed a unique gentleness during that time, and eventually God blessed him by moving him to another cell.

            It is the changed lives of men like Ronald that reveal this ministry’s priorities.  These priorities are redemption, restoration, and rehabilitation.  This ministry seeks to introduce inmates to the only One who can deal with their sin – Jesus Christ.  It seeks to guide them to grow in their relationship with Christ through discipleship.  This allows them to have real, lasting change in their lives.  Finally, we seek to keep them out of prison.  In a real sense I don’t want to see them again . . . in prison that is. 

            Preaching at the prison is full of surprises.  It has taken me some time to get used to people getting up in the middle of my sermons and walking out.  Sometimes it is because these men have to go to get their medication.  At other times it is because they do not like the sermon.  I have had Deacons complain about sermons, but I have never had half of the congregation walk out! 

            Preaching at the prison is full of joy.  An example of this is when I was preaching a sermon about the new life in Christ.   Adrian and Leo’s response made it a memorable sermon.  I was making the point that there is a clear, practical change in a person’s life when they are saved when Adrian and Leo jumped up.

Now when two inmates jump up during a chapel service and begin to shout I usually listen, and watch out.  Instead of causing a problem Adrian and Leo started to testify about how God had delivered them from drugs.  “I was a crack addict for fifteen years, and Christ saved me!  And cleaned me up!” Adrian shouted.  “So was I, and now I’m free!” said Leo.  What could I say?  “Praise the Lord!”

            Men like Adrian and Leo are changed by the work of Christ in their lives.  They are new creations in Christ, and they demonstrate that newness by living differently.  It blesses my heart to hear these men testify about God’s deliverance.  These are the men who get out of prison, and stay out.

            Another focus of this ministry is to train inmates to minister to others in prison. The cell blocks are off limits to everyone except prison staff.  In order to break through this problem I have shown the men that Scripture calls all Christians to be witnesses, and to “bloom where they are planted.”  I tell them that the day that the judge sentenced these men to prison God was also calling them into the prison ministry. 

Every Christian is called to be a witness where they live.  I teach these men that they have ‘earned the right’ to talk with the toughest men in the prison.  I am excited about how God uses these men to lead others inmates to Christ.

            Mike has been in prison most of his life.  For years he was one of the toughest men in the prison.  Then one day he heard the gospel, and Christ changed him.  This change in his life is seen in his love for Christ, and his concern for other inmates.  It seems that every time that I meet Mike he has brought someone else to chapel, or has led another prisoner to Christ.  This type of concern for the lost is one of the focal points of this ministry.

            One night during a Chapel service one of the corrections officers came up to me and told me that one of the men in solitary confinement wanted to talk to a chaplain.  As I entered the solitary confinement unit the roar of angry men bombarded me.  The officer opened the 18-inch by 6-inch steel opening on the front of the cell door.  I had to drop to one knee to speak with the prisoner. I realized that this was a special opportunity to serve this inmate.

            As soon as I saw Fred I knew that we had met before.  He had visited the Chapel on a number of occasions.  He had violated some prison policy and had been placed in solitary confinement.  I was encouraged to see that he was spending his time reading his Bible.  His cramped quarters had not broken his spirit.  He voiced some concern about his family whom he was unable to talk to during his time of discipline.  I was blessed to see that he had renewed his commitment to Christ.  I was encouraged to hear of his concern for his family.  As we prayed together I could sense God’s blessing on that situation.

            When ministering to men like Fred my concern is to communicate the love of God to them.  In the judgment of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, those who were judged had a lifestyle that rejected social outcasts such as prisoners.  The response of Christians must be to reach out to these men, with the compassion of Jesus Christ, in order to see lasting change in their lives.

Author: Brent Kelly
Date: 3/5/00