Prison Trip

The sound of the door closing was exactly like I had anticipated. It was the heaviest door I’ve ever seen and it crashed with a thud as it closed. It had a finality that surely signaled to countless prisoners over the years that hope was gone. I was entering a multilevel security prison with six others from my church. We were there to lead a monthly worship service with a special group of prisoners. These prisoners were those in protective custody. These had formerly been police officers, relatives of important officials, or judges. They have to be kept in special confinement for their own protection. The other prisoners would hurt or even kill them in they were kept in a common area.

We were told to leave our wallets behind and only go into the prison with our driver’s licenses. At three different times we had to give our licenses to someone so that they could verify that we had suddenly not traded places with a prisoner. We then passed several buildings that looked like barracks. Chain link fences and razor wire kept funneling us in a specific direction. As we rounded a corner, I suddenly saw a cinderblock building with a steeple. The sight of a familiar steeple topped with a cross immediately relaxed me.

After we went into the chapel, several things struck me about the service. First, was the way the prisoners entered the chapel. After signing in for the service, they approached our group and gave us each a big hug and said “Welcome brother” (or sister). It reminded me a lot of services I have attended in other countries. There was an intimacy and closeness among these believers that I do not often encounter in our own church. I was not expecting that.


We then began the service with prayer. Then we sang for around twenty minutes, followed by the sermon. After the service had concluded, I was surrounded by these prisoners and spoke with them for around twenty minutes. It was strange and sad to hear their stories. Several of them have come to Christ in the prison. They spoke about the challenges and about the faithfulness of God to sustain them. Several of them will remain in this facility for their entire lives.

One of them made the following comment. “People on the outside don’t know that there are good people in here. Good people who have made some awful decisions.” He urged me to tell people outside that there are believers in prison.

Several thoughts:

1) It amazes me that I have Christian brothers in prison. They welcomed me without defense. I guess that there is not as much pretense in prison as there is in church. By that I mean that they were able to talk to me freely and honestly about themselves without artifice. They didn’t really care if I judged them—after all, society had already judged them.

2) What was shattered was my long standing prejudice that people who are saved in prison are merely trying to impress the parole board. An intense cynicism is one of my worst attributes and meeting these brothers helped me to see that genuine faith is present even in the darkest of places. I mean, if you are in for life without parole, it becomes difficult to second guess motivations.

3) The Kingdom of God has taken root in some amazing places. Over the years, the church as an institution has made its way, like yeast or a mustard seed, throughout almost all areas of this world.

3) I would encourage you to get involved in some sort of prison ministry. I plan on returning to the prison, and I truly believe that I was blessed by the group.


Matthew 25:36-40I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' "The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'