Two years ago I began to visit a place called Hays State Prison in Northwest Georgia. Hays is a level 5 maximum security prison, and over the last couple of years it has gotten more and more dangerous and the security level has only increased. I began going up once a month with a prison ministry called Kairos, and we now have 10 members of AMCC (Atlanta Metropolitan Christian Church) involved in that ministry.
I was asked if I could start a Bible study in the chapel, and then we took it into the Faith and Character Based dorm (before that time, they rarely if ever allowed volunteers to teach inside the dorms because of security concerns). Since then we have met almost every week and that group of men has changed my life.
Seven of those men have set themselves apart. They study their Bibles and pray together. They share their faith with other inmates, and they hold each other accountable— they ARE their brother’s keepers. They walk like Jesus in a place where that can get you killed. They have a dangerous faith and they are a unified band of brothers. I’ve seen them grow, repent, and take stands based on convictions that only come from true faith. Several months ago I started to request a potential baptism date, and all we could do was pray. This is a place where everything is structured and procedures and policies are rarely changed. The last few wardens would not allow baptisms, but the one who is there now has changed his mind— he is a good man who cares about the inmates, and he and I have developed a good working relationship… I am so excited to report that on June 1st we baptized “The Seven” into Christ!
The chaplain asked me and Gary Burke if we would assist, and after their immersion we had a special service that night where they took their first communion, sang songs and we preached the word! I wish you could have seen their joy, gratitude and tears, as they received the goal of their faith— the salvation of their souls. These men have proven and tested their faith over the last couple of years that I have known them and now they have been “set free.” I just wish you all could meet them— they are some of my best friends and you would be so proud to call them Brothers (most of them are doing life sentences).
Recently we have started a “Peace Movement” at Hays where men are choosing to live by the principles of Matthew 5: Love your enemies and turn the other cheek. Some said that was impossible there— I say that anything is possible with God. Every Friday we meet at a round table discussion with the most powerful, rival gang members and leaders in the camp, and we discuss and negotiate peace, which is so desperately needed at Hays. The administration has appointed me to lead and mediate that group. Last Friday it was decided that Gary Burke and I will begin teaching in ALL the dorms. God is up to something… This “Prison Peace Initiative” has been adopted by Kairos and is being taken to over 300 prisons across the country! It is amazing what a small band of brothers, that the world has forgotten, can bring about if they only trust in God.
Your Brother in Christ,