It is an absolute blessing being able to serve in prison ministry with the Saints and Deacons organizations for 24 years and counting. We have the opportunity to travel to prisons all over the country and share The Gospel of Jesus Christ with inmates. In between and sometimes after our games, we get to spend a few minutes of quality time with them. We get to engage in true meaningful conversation, where they open up about their lives and we get a chance to speak truth to them and pray for them right on the spot. There really is nothing quite like it.
You never know who you may encounter, as we visit low level institutions with less serious crimes to high level facilities, where the crimes are much more severe. Either way, God always leads us to talk to the men He wants us to with His “divine appointments.” Our visit and interactions leave a lasting effect on them. The officers often tell us that they talk about it all year long. It is simply beautiful how God works!
One of my most recent encounters occurred in Eastern Correctional Facility in Maryland just a few weeks ago. After I gave the The Gospel presentation and a portion of my personal testimony, one particular inmate came up to me afterwards to talk more about that. He was struggling with what to believe and what I shared resonated with him. I listened to him for a few minutes on his confusion and how he was being pulled in different directions by the many belief systems in our world. I simply shared with him that even though I did not believe in Christ or any of those systems when I was younger, I did feel an unexplained emptiness inside for a long time. I knew there had to be more beyond this world. After many years of an internal tug–o-war and God preparing my heart unbeknownst to me, the day I heard the Gospel for the very first time, I knew that I knew that I knew it was the Truth. I knew I was a screw up and that Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection was the way to be reconciled to God. He became Lord and Savior of my life that day! I no longer felt that emptiness inside and have been filled with a peace that surpasses all understanding to this very day. You could see it on his face that he was interested and was generally searching. He thanked me for sharing. He was still not quite ready to make that commitment. I told him that it was okay because truly believing Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is not something to be forced upon by someone else. You have to come to that decision on your own. I did tell him, however, to get on his knees when he gets back to his cell and to truly ask God to reveal Himself. We prayed together and I asked the Lord to change his heart and reveal to him the truth of Jesus Christ. We then played our second game and afterwards, talked for another couple of minutes and then hugged each other before we left. It was certainly a “divine appointment.”
This genuine interaction served as a reminder to me of how God can use our story to reach others. Every follower of Christ comes from a different background and circumstance. We all have a distinct story to tell. Some may be more dramatic than others and some may have happened sooner than later, but we all have a story. The beautiful thing about that is that our story cannot be refuted because it happened to us. It is personal. Nobody can take that away. While they are all unique, the common thread is that we came to the life changing knowledge of Jesus Christ and the work He did on that cross to save us.
Let us never be too timid to share our own personal testimony with someone. You may think yours is too boring, share it. You may think yours will not make a difference, share it. You just never know how God may use it to lead others to Jesus. True Christianity is not about religion, but a relationship. What better way to build that bridge than to share how He restored that relationship with us. Let us follow the words of King David and share our story for God’s glory!
Psalm 107:1-2(NLT)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
Wayne Errig