I’m going to prison on Wednesday.

Luckily, I’ll be out again later that evening…but I’ll be back again the next week!

You have probably already guessed that this is because I am volunteering in the prison. I lead a long-term Bible study, and I rotate with another teacher to teach a 12-week Bible study. I started teaching in the prison a few years ago. I was recruited to lead just a few classes, but it takes some work to become a volunteer, so after jumping through those hoops I just kept going in! For many people, the thought of going to prison to teach a Bible study is a little frightening. The number one question I get is, “Are you scared?” On top of that, this ministry is fairly time-intensive. We have to arrive early to be processed to go in to the prison, and then we walk across the grounds to our classrooms. After an hour and a half class, we have to repeat the process to leave. So why am I still volunteering? What brings me back to the prison every week is the great joy of bringing God’s Word to women who are hungry to hear it.

When a person is sent to prison, they are allowed to choose a religion and participate in activities associated with that religion. They are allowed to change their religious choice every six months if they desire. This means that most of the women in my classes have some kind of background with Christianity. They range from those who have a basic familiarity with Christianity to those who have true and personal faith. But no matter where they came from, these women are in a position where they have a deep desire for inner change and know that it comes from God. They come to class with a great desire to know more. 

I love seeing women who are new to faith learn more about God and fall in love with Him. Recently I had a woman in my class named Maria* who came to the group with a minimal background in Christianity. The whole class enjoyed sharing the basics of Christianity with her. I remember one particular lesson where someone casually mentioned that Jesus was born of a virgin. Maria had never heard this before, and was astonished as we talked about the virgin birth of Jesus and why it is important to our faith!

On the other hand, I love seeing women who have a strong faith background continue to grow. I met a woman named Rachel* who had been a Christian for a number of years. She did her best to trust God and have a positive outlook even as she faced the hardships of prison life. She was an example to the other ladies of what it looks like to follow God in a difficult place. Then one day she came to class and told us she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I wasn’t sure how she would respond, and I was filled with joy to see that she continued to submit her life and her future into God’s hands. The ladies in the class were encouraged by her faith to continue walking their own faith journeys.

Sometimes growth comes with questions, and another great joy that I have is seeing women filled with questions about faith. They come each week with things they don’t understand. Sometimes it is challenging as a teacher! I had a woman in class named Sandra* who had come from a background in eastern spiritualism. She had questions every week ranging from “Is it okay to meditate on Scripture?” to “What do you think about numerology in the Bible?” There were questions I could answer right away, and questions I had to research!

In fact, my current long-term group is studying Revelation because the ladies had so many questions. They wanted to know things like “Does the Bible say we go to heaven when we die?” and “Who are the 144,000?” and “Is the war in Iran the beginning of the end times?” One of the ladies told me that another Bible teacher told her it was pretentious to study Revelation, and she should just stick to the basics. She was disappointed, and happy that we could address it in my class! It is my joy to help them dive into the difficult subjects as well as the basics of faith!

As the women learn more, I also love to hear how they are putting their faith into practice. I had a woman in my class named Kim* who was a new believer and just learning to practice her faith. She came from a rough background where physical fighting was the norm. One day, she came to class and shared that during the week she had been laying on her bed when she heard someone in the hallway say something that made her angry. She jumped out of bed prepared to fight, but as she crossed her cell she said a quick prayer, “God, if you don’t want me to do this, you stop me!” As she reached her hand for the door, a sudden peace flowed over her. She was so overcome by the feeling that she could do nothing except return to bed and lie down! This was God’s answer to her prayer, and a sure sign to her that God was working in her life.

Many times, we walk through pain with our ladies as well. One week I was teaching a lesson on forgiveness. That week Tara* came to class with the news that her toddler had been abused by her caretaker, leading to potentially permanent brain damage. How to teach on forgiveness in such difficult circumstances? We talked about the Two Hands** prayer method which helps a person to receive God’s love and comfort in order to start the long process of forgiveness. Another week I went to Bible study knowing that Kira* had probably given birth during the past week. That day, it took a long time to get in and class started very late. As a result, only two women came, one of whom was Kira. She had indeed given birth, and after only a few hours with her baby, she had been returned to prison and the baby had gone into outside care. She came to class filled with grief and needing comfort from the Holy Spirit. We spent the class reading Psalms of lament and comfort.

This does not mean that class is always easy, or that we always see growth. One woman, Mia*, came one week and broke down in remorse over her crime. After prayer, she felt God’s love and forgiveness. However, in the following weeks she stopped paying attention and talked through the class. It became so disruptive that I had to have her taken off the class list. A second woman, Olivia*, said she hadn’t fully decided whether she wanted to declare Christianity or paganism as her religion. I presented the gospel in class, and the next week she didn’t return – the other women told me she had decided to choose paganism.

The joys, however, far outweigh these difficulties. The truth is, I am not afraid to go in. I know the prison has safeguards for me, but far more than that I know that God is blessing this ministry. He is with us in every class, and He protects me, other volunteers, and the women as well! Every week, going to the prison fills me with joy. Sometimes I look at an evening that is completely taken up by prison ministry, and part of me would like to grumble at not being able to spend my evening doing what I want. However, every time I leave the prison, it is with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for all that God is doing. I am filled with joy to be part of His work. My mission is “building a bridge to God’s word”, and it is a blessing to be able to bring God’s word to women in prison right here where I live! 

*Names changed for privacy

** Muller, Ann. Two Hands: A Guide for Inner Healing Prayer. Access Press, 2020.

Photo by Thea Hdc on Unsplash