Daniel's Journey
My Journey into Jesus’ Heart: Why I am in Prison Ministry
Prison ministry is an outcome of my personal walk and intimate union with Jesus.
The more I listen to God’s heartbeat, the more I understand where His heart is. When I let His Spirit rule my heart, He makes me love all people the way He loves them unconditionally. He will not help the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5).
He loves:
The hungry. The thirsty. The stranger. The naked. The sick. The prisoners. (Mat. 25:35-36)
The poor. The brokenhearted. The captives. The blind. The bruised. (Luke 4:18)
The fatherless. The widows. (James 1:27)
Listening to His heart has brought me closer to Jesus, and I heard His call to help those inside the prison. He showed me that these social outcasts, the rejects of a nice society, are the targets of His compassion and the very reason why He came to the world.
However, while God was drawing me closer to His Son, Christ Jesus, the Spirit of God was showing me also the reasons why it took me a long time to consider prison ministry. My self-righteousness was very strong against those who are inside the prison. And although I knew in my heart that the prisoners were also included in the verse: “for God so loved the world,” I had an indifferent attitude towards their behavior. The Spirit of God revealed the ugliness of my soul.
Jesus showed me that we are all in the same boat without Christ. He has no favorites. We are all sinners and lost. We all need His astronomical grace and mercy. I turned to Jesus in repentance and sought His forgiveness, and, in turn, He gave me a genuine love for “the least of these” that He died for. I breathe His grace everyday ever since.
God had to change me before He could use me. And he did.
I have been doing prison ministry for 13 years, both part time and full time. The first three years in New Jersey, while the rest, here in Texas. I was a Program Counselor at InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) for almost six years. (This is another program of the Prison Fellowship Ministries of Chuck Colson.) I resigned two years ago to have more freedom to be what He has called me to be and to go wherever God wants me to reach out to love. It is a joy to see Him at work in and through my life.
As a full time missionary of Jesus through Calvary Community Church, I still volunteer at IFI twice a week, counseling and teaching those who are assigned to me to help. And still mentoring some of my guys who were already released back into the world. And waiting for a final word form the Chaplain of Giddings State School to disciple some inmates there.
The Spirit’s presence and power have made this ministry possible. Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus can change anybody that comes to Him by faith and repentance. He is real in my own life and for those He leads in my life to lead back to Jesus. We are all in this together. He is the Potter, we are all His clay. We are all His workmanship. All for God’s glory.
Many, many lives have been touched through prison ministry. Won’t you please prayerfully consider joining us in reaching the lost in prison?
We do Prison Ministry every week, currently at three prisons in Richmond, TX:
1. Carol Vance Unit, through the IFI Program (Prison Fellowship Ministries, Chuck Colson),
Teaching, facilitating, counseling and praying for inmates ( From Monday to Friday)
2. Jester 3 Unit (mentoring, teaching and counseling) Tuesday nights
3. Jester 2 Unit ( teaching and counseling) Thursday nights.
In Jesus alone I find the joy in living our Father’s will,
Daniel
Would you like to be involved in this ministry?
Email prisons@missioncyfair.org for more information.
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