Click!! The sound of the door locking behind me sounds like a shotgun going off, and rattles through my body. It’s an odd feeling being locked in a room of around 20 inmates, with no guards present. These men are all in jail for various reasons: drugs, robbery, sexual assault, murder, etc. But there I was. Locked in a room with them, getting ready to share the gospel of Christ with them. I have experienced these emotions over the past several weeks as I have become involved in a jail ministry at the Knox County Jail here locally. On three occasions I have had the privilege of being the one who preached during our time, and a couple of Sundays ago something amazing happened. After preaching on Ephesians 2:1-5, we had a man who wanted to talk with us about God and the gospel. we sat down with him, and he immediately began to weep uncontrollably. Through his tears I could hear this man crying out for help and direction. He told us that he did not like the way his life was going, and that he wanted to give his life to God. After walking him through the gospel, I asked him to call out to God in repentance and faith, confessing Christ as savior and Lord. And he did just that. It was one of the more amazing things I have experienced in a long time. I would ask you to pray for this man, and continue to pray for our ministry in the Knox County jail. Pray that we would be faithful to the ministry, and that more men would realize their need for God’s grace and mercy.
