Liberating souls behind prison walls.
“The spiritual darkness in America increases each day. The increase in the prison population is a direct result of the increase of spiritual depravity in America. Prisons are moral and spiritual landfills of a God-rejecting culture.”
Mike Brown’s striking insights reflect his 20 years of prison ministry experience. When Mike steps into any of the four jails or correctional institutions he works with, he understands the statistics are bleak: nine out of ten inmates will eventually get out of prison. But of those nine, seven or eight will return. Sociologists label this “prison’s revolving door.” In the US, the number of those in behind bars has climbed to almost three million. An estimated four million more are on parole/probation/house arrest.
Justice and grace intertwined
What should our response be? It can be easy to slip into a “they deserve what they get” mindset and lose sight of inmates’ souls. But God calls us to see them differently. “These are part of the Great Commission,” says Mike. Prisons are harvest fields that Mike grew passionate about during his master’s degree studies. In the early 1990s, Mike and his wife Jo could not return to their previous mission field of Liberia because civil war broke out. Finishing up seminary back in the US, Mike chose prison ministries for his Christian work assignment and started a Bible study in a Virginia jail. The Lord seemed to say, “This is what you need to do.” Don Reynolds (BMM prison ministries—emeritus) also counseled Mike in this ministry change.
The Lord led Mike and Jo to northeast Tennessee, where Mike can access institutions in three states. Depending on what each institution allows, Mike conducts Bible studies, evangelism, tract distribution, worship services, preaching, teaching, counseling, and Bible correspondence courses. Jo partners with Mike by grading the correspondence Bible exams and sending inmates new courses. More than 300 prisoners or their family members in six states enroll in the classes created by Rogma International, whose president is emeritus Liberia missionary John Vanden Akker. The Lord is blessing this outflow of His Word. Money always comes in to the Browns for the courses’ $300/month postage and printing costs. Much of it is special gifts from churches or individuals.
From imprisonment to freedom in Christ
The most profound blessing is in changed lives. False jailhouse conversions abound, but God truly redeems many inmates. They demonstrate a genuinely repentant heart as they hunger for Bible study, witness to fellow prisoners, and produce spiritual fruit. At one correctional facility, Mike prepared a lesson on forgiveness for his Bible study group. Before he introduced his lesson topic, he learned that one of the past attendees had attacked his fellow prisoners with a metal bar, Mike asked the men at the study how they felt about that. They responded, “We’ve already forgiven him.”
The Browns recall many victories, but the story that moves them most is that of Greg (not his real name), an inmate in Virginia. Mike and Jo received a letter from Greg’s wife, who contacted them through Greg’s Bible correspondence course materials. Greg attended Mike’s Thursday Bible study and worship services. Knowing he would get out soon, he wrote his wife about having great peace with the Lord and anticipating returning to her and their two children. His wife received his letter on a Monday, but that Saturday, Greg died of a massive heart attack. No one expected his life to end so suddenly. In cases like Greg’s, the power of God’s Word not only saved Greg from a criminal lifestyle but saved him from eternal separation from God.
Clearly, the statistics on prisoners are not all bleak. A study that was done in Florida found that less than 15 percent of those who receive Christ and demonstrate a changed life return to prison. The Browns chose as their ministry slogan, “Presenting the Liberator to those in spiritual bondage behind prison walls.” Missionaries serve in many places of the world, but whether in a remote corner of the world or behind prison walls, the gospel they share brings the same spiritual liberation: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).”
To read more stories like Greg’s, click on our changing lives section.