They thought they were going to visit a prison. Instead, they found themselves in a worship service!
Four years ago, I brought a delegation of Oregon officials to Angola Prison in Louisiana so they could see for themselves how a “seminary in prison” had transformed lives. They were amazed at what they saw: Prisoners celebrating their “freedom” – that is, freedom in Christ.
One prisoner said, “When I was on the outside committing crimes and doing drugs, I was in prison…but when I was sentenced to Angola prison and started the seminary program, I became free. On the outside I was in prison. On the inside, in prison, I’m set free.”
As Psalm 146:7 says, “The Lord sets prisoners free.” The “prisoners” in this verse are not just people behind bars! It’s you and me, and everyone who is daily set free from guilt and shame through Christ. Thank God for his grace and mercy!
As we celebrate our country’s freedom on July 4th, I’m thankful that more than 100 inmates have applied to enter the degree program offered through Corban University at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. Just one year after that delegation visited Angola Prison, a similar program here in Oregon will launch this fall!
THANK YOU for helping to make that happen! And please pray that God will lead the administration at Corban in selecting the 25 men to be accepted into the program.