Prison Ministry

Last Tuesday, Grace College had a guest speaker in chapel who graduated from Grace College but in a quite different setting. This chapel was focused on the prison ministry at Grace College where Grace's professors and faculty help provide a future for incarcerated men and women through the message of Christ and a college education. Although I cannot remember his name, I have the vivid memory of his message. The speaker, in 1997 was driving back with his friend from a Detroit trip. Both were underage and intoxicated. The speaker was driving a truck that eventually ran over a small car on the way into Warsaw. A teen father and a teen mother were in the other car with their baby girl. The speaker was put in the Indiana Correctional Facility for a sentence of 28 years for driving intoxicated and two counts of manslaughter for the death of the mother and father of the baby. Miraculously, the baby survived but had serious injuries to the head.
Years later, this man courageously spoke in our chapel and shared his emotionally message of redemption and forgiveness.He told of how his life has been changed by Christ and the opportunity to receive a college education while in prison. He is no longer incarcerated, but living a redeemed life. This man is now married and has a bachelors degree and a masters degree, but most of all, is forgiven of his past.
The young baby girl, who survived the crash, grew up to be a beautiful young lady who hugged the speaker and forgave him in their first meeting.
The speaker was an average teenager who made some not so wise decisions and suffered the consequences. He was given a hope in Christ and the ability to pursue higher education while in prison. Grace College has hundreds of students incarcerated in Indiana who are given this same hope in Christ and hope for a future through the prison ministry.
When the speaker finished his story, many students were offered the opportunity to pray for the men and women in the prison ministry by taking a small slip of paper with the names of incarcerated students. The students in chapel were so impacted by the speaker's message and by the transformational work God does in the lives of His children. As a result, all the paper slips ran out and I have no doubt that the prison ministry is bathed with prayer from the students at Grace College.