Inside the wire

God leads Southern Baptists behind bars to lead others to freedom By Shirley Cox The gates shut as volunteers walk past rows of razor wire. An unsettling feeling envelops the group. Before they enter a tier of jail cells, the group pauses to pray for the grim-faced mugshots on the wall.  “I’m not an animal just because I’m locked up,” says one inmate to a volunteer. He’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars until his execution day arrives.  “Seeing these young men on death row locked up… It’s heart breaking,” says John Elliott, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Natchitoches, Louisiana. “I’m glad I got be a part of this and share the gospel.” John Elliott is just one of many Louisiana Baptists who volunteered to help with revival services at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. Angola is notorious from books and films such as Dead Man Walking and The Farm: Life at Angola. Visitors are often overwhelmed by its size—18,000 acres that include a golf course (for use by prison staff and some guests), a radio station, and a massive working farm. During the late 1960’s, Angola became known as “The Bloodiest Prison in the South” due to the number of inmate assaults. But today, Angola is known more for its revivals and seminary program than violence, thanks in part to Southern Baptists.  Sharing the gospel one inmate at a time The volunteers spend some 20 minutes with each inmate, sharing the gospel and listening to them. Tracts and follow-up material are slipped through the bars. At one cell, an inmate sticks his hands out of the slot for his meal tray and clasps the volunteer’s hands for prayer. As Elliott visited with several inmates on death row, one inmate stood out. The man had made a profession of faith prior to Elliott’s visit. “He told me he didn’t look at it [his current situation] as if it were death row,” Elliott says. “Rather, he looked at it as ‘life row’ … he knows that he’s going to heaven.” Visiting the men on death row or lock down provides an open door to inmates to limited in the amount of time spent outside of the cell. Unable to attend the revival church services, this one-on-one time may be their only opportunity to hear the gospel.     Some 5,200 inmates reside in Angola, and approximately 1,300 of those residents live in cells.  The rest live in dorms. The majority of its residents (85 percent) are serving life sentences.   Hell is Real Four states away, security lights cast an orange glow on double rolls of razor wire lining an 18 foot-high fence, keeping 675 male prisoners inside the West Kentucky Correctional Complex near Eddyville. Anxiously, an 11-year-old boy and his sister, 13, wait inside the room. As the children watch, a guard leads their father to the building. Inside the room with the children is Mission Service Corps missionary Harrell Riley. For more than a year, Harrell and volunteers with Hell is Real Ministries have spent Sunday afternoons at the prison leading a Bible-based program designed to end the cycle of crime within families and help mend broken relationships. “Too often, we think sharing the gospel is coming up with a venue to be sure we have a gathering and do the ABC’s of salvation,” Harrell says. “Building a relationship that is trustful and consistent opens the door for people to ask questions and for us to intervene and share the gospel.” Perhaps Harrell’s urgency for sharing the gospel stems from growing up with an alcoholic father. Harrell recalls that as a child he stood between his parents with a .38 caliber pistol pointed at his face to keep them from harming each other. His father died when Harrell was 15, leaving him with a rebellious nature. “I didn’t do drugs or alcohol,” Harrell says, “but I was always with the wrong crowd. God protected me from violence and being shot. He has always provided for me and was a comfort to my troubled soul.” Mending lives and broken relationships Inside the prison, Harrell guides the “Malachi Dads”—based on Malachi 4:6a—as they complete self-paced lessons and memorize scriptures with their children. “To me, this time is precious,” one of the inmates says. “The program gives me an opportunity to share what is close to my heart, Jesus Christ, and the opportunity to share the word of God with my son and learn the word of God with him. That way, with God’s help, we can both learn how to do the right thing.” “Malachi Dads” must attend a weekly Bible study, write home twice a month, and pursue a GED or other type of education to remain eligible. Eleven nights a month, “Hell is Real” Ministries also leads a Bible study and worship service at the prison.    “Hell is real,” Harrell says. “By sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to change hearts and, ultimately, change lives.” OM Shirley Cox is an MSC missionary serving in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky.

Angola– OMX visits Angola prison   Download