Sheriff Helps Spread Gospel to Inmates Through Ministry at County Jail
A church in northwest Indiana decided to start a new campus in an unlikely place — the Jasper County Jail — and they are seeing God move in big ways.
First Church launched its newest campus in 2019 at the beginning of the year. The worship service, held every Thursday morning, includes live worship as well as a video sermon.
When it first started, the service was only available for men, but after it gained popularity, the church was able to open the opportunity to women in the jail to come and worship as well.
Grant Allen, the Worship and Music Director of First Church, told Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, that they now average anywhere from 35-40 men and women in attendance each week.
“When we had spoken with Sheriff Pat Williamson about the possibility of doing this, he seemed open to it and excited about it. So we started building a team of volunteers from our current location saying, ‘Hey, we want to go share the love of Jesus with the men and women in jail. Are you willing to do that?’ The ones who seemed excited about it, prayed about it.”
The team of volunteers who ultimately committed to help run the weekly services then went through two different training sessions at the jail.
Unlike many prison ministries that are more like a bible study, First Church specifically wanted to provide a worship experience to the inmates at Jasper County Jail.
Sheriff Williamson and the rest of the jail staff also recognized the profound impact it could have on the inmates’ lives and actively helped the church make their dream come to fruition.
Allen told Liftable that he prayed that this new location would give them an opportunity to show Christ’s love to the inmates.
“One of the most heartbreaking things is going on to social media and you know, you can see when somebody gets a mug shot or somebody’s been convicted,” he said, noting that it’s good to know that people are being held accountable for their crimes.
“But it turns into a sounding board of hate toward these guys who have messed up, but we feel like as Christians Jesus forgives us when we mess up and he gives us second chance after second chance after second chance,” he continued. “And I love that we have a sheriff who is so committed to rehabilitation that he’s giving us this opportunity to go in there and show these guys, ‘Hey, you’re still loved. Hey, you’re still cared about.'”
Allen says that his prayer has been answered and the impact that the church is having on the atmosphere of the church is extremely noticeable, not only by the inmates themselves but also by the guards.
“We have a quieter atmosphere. In times past, you would hear banging, kicking, yelling, screaming, but now it’s very quiet,” Sheriff Williamson told WLFI. “They get along well, they treat staff better so we have less incident. It just complements the other things going on in our jail”
“That’s just a testimony to how the Holy Spirit can fill a place,” he said. “No matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done, God is able and willing to light up that darkness and make things better.”
One of the inmates, Anthony, was even able to help Allen and his team lead worship one Thursday morning. The emotional moment was just another testament to the incredible ways the worship service is providing opportunities to love and care for the inmates.
But First Church doesn’t intend to stop providing support after the inmates get out of jail. Allen told Liftable that there is a group of business owners who attend their first campus that are committed to helping provide and find jobs for these men and women after they leave the jail.
“We want to partner with the jail to provide love and hope and socioeconomic opportunities for the inmates when their time is done,” Allen said. “Jesus was all about giving people second chances and First Church wants to be there for those men and women when they’re ready for theirs.”
Since the opening of the Jasper County Jail church location, nine inmates have committed their lives to Jesus and have been baptized. First Church is praying that even more decide to get baptized in the following years.
“One of the things we love to say here is ‘With Jesus the best is yet to come,'” Allen told Liftable. “And with Jesus in the jail, the best is definitely still yet to come.”
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