an ohio youth prison
Dearly beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Blessings and greetings in the name of Jesus, the only name under heaven whereby we may be saved (Acts 4:12).
Today, I am so stoked about what God is doing that I do not know where to begin. Yesterday, as you might recall, my email was cut short by the persistent nagging of some stuffed-shirt librarians. At the end of it, I mentioned that I might be able to preach at a youth prison facility. For those of you who prayed for this, I want to share how those prayers were answered.
To make a long story short, the superintendent of the prison facility called to inquire about my interest. They agreed to let me speak from 8:00pm to 9:00pm last night to whoever wanted to attend. The man informed me that they did not “force” the teenage boys to attend anything (maybe that is part of the problem; nobody ever forced them to do anything); it was to be purely voluntary. So, from the outset, I did not expect much. I mean, what imprisoned teenager would want to come hear some preacher speak? I also detected that the superintendent twas uncomfortable with the "Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven" approach. He said it was ok to share my testimony and what I believe the Lord has done for me, but this was just to be presented as my opinion. I was not to communicate to the boys that this was the ONLY truth (typical relativism that infests our nation today). I determined from the outset that I would preach the truth as THE TRUTH (John 17:17), and that if I overstepped bounds, they would have to ask me to leave. There was no way I would comply with this “mandate” and compromise what we know to be ABSOLUTE TRUTH. The matter to me was one of eternal life or eternal death. Anyway, we traveled down to the prison with pessimistic outlooks, just hoping to get through the evening without getting kicked out.
When we arrived, I toted in a case of Bibles along with tons of Gospel tracts. They gave us a classroom, and before long, over 30 young men came strolling in. Right then, I began to realize that there was no room for pessimism. God was going to do something big. For the next hour or so, I preached to these young men the hard truths of God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They listened attentively, mouths were dropped to the floor, and tears were welling up in a few eyes. Most of the young men were 16-17 years-olds with a few younger. One boy was only eleven. Apparently, Butler County Youth Detention Center is a holding facility for youthful offenders who are on trial. Once sentencing occurs, they are either released for probation or carted off to the youth prison facility in Columbus. Most of them are in the midst of the court process.
To my amazement, when I paused to take a breath, the accompanying guard broke the silence to start preaching the Gospel himself. He was a born-again Christian! I just sat back and let the Spirit work. I closed out the evening by offering free Bibles and Gospel literature; then, I asked if there were any questions. Hands went to the sky. I chose a young black man in the back of the room first. His name was Giles, and he exclaimed, "I have a question." He asked, "Man, what can I do to be saved?" Then, the whole room echoed such sentiments. I was immediately reminded of the Philippian jalier's question of Paul in Acts 16. I just repeated Paul's answer in verse 31: "Boys, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." After a no-nonsense review of what it took to be born again, 20 YOUNG MEN CALLED UPON CHRIST TO SAVE THEM. My wife and I, another sister in Christ who accompanied us, and even the guard got involved in guiding these boys.
Once this pouring out of the Holy Spirit began to wind down, I was being told that it was time to finish so the young men could return to their cells for lights out. As it happened, the shift supervisor was also a born-again Christian. I asked if I could keep the young men who confessed Christ with me for a few more minutes alone. The supervisor agreed. All the rest were shuttled back to their rooms with armfuls of Bibles and tracts. Then, we spent the next half an hour with those 20 young men, reviewing what it is to be converted and what they were to expect from here on out (being a Christian is no bed of roses—II Timothy 3:12). Do not be mistaken, these were no-nonsense discussions. I do not beat around the bush when it comes to the Gospel and the biblical mandate, and I certainly don’t try to lead people in a repeat-after-me sinner’s prayer. Once again, the guard was in on this. The really awesome thing is that there are several born-again employees at the facility who will be there to help these kids in the discipleship process. The local church who blessed us with that incredible love offering last night also has an effective prison ministry, and a sister in that ministry agreed to help get involved with these specific young men so as to see that they are Scripturally baptized and effectively discipled. All of this is so important. In the end, I loaded everyone up with Bibles, tracts, and other discipleship reading material. An eleven-year-old boy (Nicholas) is getting out in two days. He asked me if he could take about 10 Bibles so he could hand them out in his neighborhood when he got home. I could go on and on with the rehashing, but time is short.
Please pray for these young men at the Butler Youth Detention Center. God did a work, no doubt in my mind. They will need discipleship and other Christians in their lives to care for them in the hard times that lie ahead. I am doing all I can to help facilitate this over the next couple of days.
Also, please be in prayer for the two Christian employees who were on the scene last night (another one of God's provisions). They now have a big responsibility to use their positions for the furtherance of the Gospel and the edification of new believers. Pray that God will give them resolve, determination, and no-compromise guts.
Finally, pray that the local church will get a foothold in these boys' lives before they get lost in the system or in society. With the salvation of souls comes great responsibility for the people of God. I am so thankful that the bridges to discipleship in this situation are already present. All of this was the Lord's doing. He had us in the right place at the right time. We are only about a sixth of the way across the country, and God's hand has been more active than we ever imagined (I can just hear Jesus saying, "O ye of little faith").
As we drove back to the Wright home late last night, I ran into another radical Christian who had his van decked out with Scripture and Gospel messages. We fellowshipped for a few minutes and traded contact information. Please pray for Russ. His unsaved wife abandoned him, and he is waiting around in earnest for reconciliation, not believing that divorce is the answer. I admire this. Every time I get the "Elijah syndrome," God always shows me that there are other radicals for Jesus Christ out there. We do not fight this battle alone.
I also pondered the state of our nation last night as I drove down the deserted streets. Immediately, I was comforted. While some judiciary fool (Psalm 14:1) is ordering the ten commandments out of a STATE courthouse in Alabama, three Christians strolled into a STATE prison facility in Ohio and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 20 YOUNG MEN confessed Christ, and there was absolutely nothing the unregenerate federal government could do to stop it! GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES.
You know, the Hand of God’s Providence is amazing. If we hadn’t met Mark Wright on the side of the road way back in Virginia at a particular moment that resulted from our plans getting all messed up, I never would have had the opportunity to go into this prison and preach Christ. I place my hand over my mouth.
This was many miles ago in Central Virginia. And it was this “chance” meeting on the side of the highway that resulted in the fruit of this update. God’s ways are incredible.
Tomorrow morning, the bike trek resumes. The parting from these dear friends in Christ we have been with over the past couple of days will be bittersweet. But, the road ahead is long. Next week, we hope to make our way up through Indiana, do some street preaching in Indianapolis, and rendezvous with my sister in Michigan. As for specifics, only the Lord knows.
For all of you who have supported us in one way or another, the blessings I have just rehashed are yours to enjoy. You are all fellow helpers to the truth and our ministry (III John 1:5-8). We could not have done this without your prayers, hospitality, and support. The Body of Jesus Christ works best when it works together. Thank-you.
"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him" (Nahum 1:7).
Fellow-servants of the Most High God,
Jesse & Jamie Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries