This Prisons Week, we wanted to spotlight some stories of how God is moving in our prisons ministry.
‘Do you pray?’
This summer we launched prisons work in the North East, and what an impact it’s already having! As Karl runs Alpha courses, Bible studies and supports resettlement, he’s building relationships with the men in prison.
At one Alpha session, Joshua* said he was agnostic. Rod*, who’d come to faith on the previous course, asked, ‘Do you pray?’ To which Joshua replied, ‘Well, yeah.’ Rod asked, ‘What do you pray to then?’ Joshua answered, ‘I suppose I pray to God.’ Seizing the opportunity, Rod said, ‘You clearly aren’t agnostic if you pray to God. Keep praying.’
At the session’s end, Karl gave the men time to pray, and Joshua started praying! Karl’s now using every opportunity to connect with Joshua and tell him more about Jesus.
‘I want Jesus to have my whole life’
Owain has been working with Daniel* in prison for a while now. Owain said, ‘Daniel wants to get baptised! He gave his life to Jesus on a the4points course and now, when he leaves prison, Daniel doesn’t want to just find a church but he wants to have his whole life given to Jesus!’
‘Jesus is real!’
We caught up with prisons worker Jo who shared, ‘A year ago Jim* was one of the most disruptive influences in our prison chapel services. About four months ago, something shifted and he began to take part in the services and ask questions. The other day, he asked me if we had any leaflets about baptism. I was able to sit with him and hear how he’s gradually come to understand Jesus is real and how he’s now ready to live for him. I went through a the4points card with him and prayed with him. We even chatted about baptism so please do be praying for Jim!’
‘I was drawn like a magnet to respond’
Did you know that we have prisons workers around the world? In the Netherlands, the team met Musa* during one of the church services they were running in the prison. During the service, he listened to the preach and thought, ‘This is about me!’ When the gospel was shared, he went up to the front to respond! Musa said to the team afterwards, ‘it was like I was drawn like a magnet to the front to respond.’
He’s now joined the Peacemakers course that the team will be running and is excited to come along saying, ‘I wish I had learned all of this sooner!’
*names changed
Could your church be a safe place where prison leavers can find church community and discipleship? Find out more and sign your church up at the Welcome Directory.
