article and photographs By Joe Westbury

Gene Jenkins stopped outside Johns residence on a Saturday morning, noticed he was home, introduced himself and launched a conversation. Before that day, the two men had never met but that didnt slow them down as they explored common ground.

John had been homebound for 25 years and didnt get many visitors, so he relished the encounter. His physical needs were being met, but he had other needsspiritual and emotionalthat could only be met through human contact. Johns greatest need was to hear that Christ loved him and had died for the forgiveness of his sins.

Thats why Gene stopped by Johns cell at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. John didnt accept Christ on that first visitfew dobut he did ask Gene several probing questions about eternity and how God could forgive even a convicted felon of his sins.

Gene chalked up this first visit to preparing the soil and planting the seed, steps required before the harvest. Subsequent visits would be dedicated to tending the soil, watering the seed and being a Christian friend.

A growing number of men and women are discovering the joys of prison ministry as the government opens the doors of faith-based initiatives to Christians. Christians working on the inside of the razor wirefrom wardens to chaplains to security officersare counting on churches to respond with mission teams who will bring spiritual awakening to the nations prisons and jails. Whether they come to lead Bible studies, present gospel music concerts, lead revival services or just serve as a listening ear, volunteers are needed to walk alongside chaplains in the nations prisons and jails.

Becoming involved in what are today known as faith-based initiatives is not tied to the current political climate. Regardless of what occurs in the political arena, prisons such as Louisiana State Prison at Angola will continue to use chaplains and volunteers in varying capacities to bring spiritual healing.

What sets Angola apart from other correctional institutions is that its approach of moral and spiritual rehabilitation is nearing its first decade and shows no sign of slowing down. The crime rate at Angola continues to drop, inmates continue to come to Christ and start churches, and the phenomenon is giving jail house religion a new meaning.

Angola, known for decades as the nations bloodiest maximum security prison, has become the poster child for showcasing how the gospel can redeem hardened criminals. When Warden Burl Cain set foot on the sprawling complex in 1994, conditions were so bad it was under martial law. Today it literally houses the same violent offendersthe average sentence is 90 yearsbut they are more at peace with themselves, and they credit the gospel with the transformation.

Warden Cain has made a believer out of many skeptics who maintain jailhouse conversions mean nothing to long-term rehabilitation.

One of the greatest challenges we face at Angola is giving hope where there is no hope. Thats where God comes in, he says in his blunt, unapologetic tone.

Cain, a Southern Baptist, for nearly 10 years has allowed Christians of many denominations to come into the prison and share the gospel on a regular basis. It all began with an Experiencing God Bible study with the inmates and continues with inmates, armed with degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, being transferred as two-year missionaries to other prisons within the state.

A movement of new churches began to spread and the original handful of churches has grown to nearly 30, with the number of inmate pastors mushrooming to about 80. The result is multiplication: those won to Christ through the interaction of volunteers with inmates, and inmates with inmates, have resulted in other new believers receiving seminary degrees and starting churches in other prisons.

This is no longer the bloodiest prison in America, said inmate Donald Biermann. You cant even see a good fist fight anymore.

Biermann should know; he admits to starting his fair share of them.

I had no biblical knowledge before four years ago. At age 44 my life was controlled by hate and indifference. I had been in prison in three states and had been locked up more years than I had been free.

I came to Angola functionally illiterate and could not read or write, just fight. There was no solution to any problem I had met outside of severe violence. I told people that God was just a fairytale and anyone who believed in Him was a fairy. But when I met Him through a Bible study my life changed.  >>>

A church meets somewhere every day of the week at Angola. Those inmates like Biermann who show a commitment to such a fellowship are allowed to enroll in the seminary program and receive a full degree. Once that is completed they become inmate pastors and can help start a church in one of the cell blocks or dormitories.

Those who have proven themselves are allowed to be transferred to other prisons within the state to start Bible studies that will grow into churcheschurches that reproduce themselves within the facility. The approach has become so popular that staff from other prisons visit Angola to study the strategy and are requesting that inmate pastors be loaned to their facilities. (Inmates are not allowed out of state because of the complicated extradition process.)

Chaplain Supervisor Robert Toney, a Southern Baptist, who supervises the program and oversees chaplains of all faiths at Angola, says the miracle at Angola defies explanation outside of God.

When you put these inmate pastors all over the prison system and allow them to perform one-on-one ministry and counseling, lives begin to be changed. Angola has become a place of radical transformation, and we owe a lot of the credit to the volunteers who have helped turn this place upside down for Christ.

Toney stresses that inmates spiritual activity is monitored to assure that they are serious about their conversion and are not participating to gain favor with the administration. Once there is evidence of a conversion, the inmate is slowly allowed more freedom to interact with other inmate pastors and be mentored in church-starting methodology.

Chaplain Robert Toney speaks to a crowd of inmates at Angola prison during a revival.

Cain agrees with the role of volunteers in making a difference at the maximum security facility. He has seen impressive results from the efforts of volunteers.

Weve removed some inmates from suicide watch after volunteers have worked with them for a while. At the height of Angolas violence we saw 40 murders in one year. Now things have improved so much that weve gone as long as seven years at a stretch with no murders. You cant argue with the facts.

John Yarbrough, vice president of Evangelization at the North American Mission Board, spends time with an inmate on death row.

Cain attributes this relative calm to the common sense observation that prisoners need to have peace restored to their lives.

What needs to take place in the prison is the creation of an atmosphere of spiritual healing. These people are woundedit doesnt matter why they are wounded.

Restorative justice is whats at work at Angola, largely due to volunteers who regularly come to share their faith with the inmates. Cain knows that he and his staff are limited as to the degree that they can make a spiritual difference at the facility due to the roles they have to play. But thats where the role of volunteers comes into focus.

 The staff and I cant plant the seed. Were the taskmasters whose job it is to see that these inmates remain in prison, he explains. But the chaplains and volunteers can step into that gap and bring hope.

Volunteers include Tim King of Watson, Louisiana, a member of Greenwell Springs Baptist Church. King is typical of volunteers who step behind prison razor wire for the first time and are surprised at what they find.

I talked to some inmates who were not believers, and we had a good visit, but I also found several who were growing in their faith on a regular basis. That was a surprise I didnt expect to find at a prison, he says.

Prisoners bow their heads as the chaplain prays during an outdoor revival at Angola.

King has been so blessed by the encounters that hes not content to settle for an occasional visit.

Ive decided that I want to make a long-term commitment. Those guys arent going anywhere theyll be there 20 or 30 years from now and theyre counting on me.

Joe Westbury is a writer living in Atlanta, Georgia.