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Jail Ministry Update
July 2003  
Sussex County
         Back in the spring I started participating with a group of ministers that go into the Sussex County Jail to minister to the incarcerated men. It was quite a process getting approved to go into the jail. After the initial waiting for my background check to go through, and a couple trips in to get a feel for the place, I finally received the opportunity to minister the grace of God from the word of God to these men the last Sunday night of June.

          I arrived at the parking garage about twenty minutes early and waited for the fellow minister to arrive who would be going inside the jail with me. During the wait I prayed and looked over the Bible text that I would be ministering from. I felt a great sense of anticipation and expectation. I knew that God was going to use me to minister to these men. As I prayed and refreshed myself with the Scriptures I gave myself anew to a fresh anointing of the Spirit.

          My partner in ministry for the night arrived. After greeting each other we buzzed the guard and identified ourselves. There was a short wait while the guard checked the roster to see who was authorized to come inside that particular night. The door lock made its familiar unlocking sound and we were allowed entry through the first locked door. Inside the lobby area we signed in and then passed through a metal detector. Our keys were left in a drawer that opened from the dark side of the bullet proof glass and we sat down to wait for the women’s church service to conclude.

          Though we’ve known each other for only a few months, Bob and I have begun to develop a sense of ministerial comradeship. We talked about ministry and the things we see going on around us that are indicative of the need of revival in the church, of salvation for the lost, and things that appear to be signs of the approaching grand finale for earth life as we now know it. Three guards hurriedly made their way through the lobby and through the next two locked doors. We prayed for them as they went and we prayed for whatever the unknown situation was that prompted their rush. Throughout the wait my sense of anticipation and expectation continued to increase.

          Women’s church concluded and once the inner corridors of the jail were secure we were allowed to pass through two more electrically locked doors and into the room that serves as the chapel where we minister. We took a couple of minutes to rearrange the seating to make it more functional. The walls are an ugly green color and the carpet is gray. Through the thick glass windows we are afforded a view of the razor wire topped fence that complements an already very secure ambiance.

          We stood where we would meet the men face to face and shook their hands as they entered the room. Several of the men have come to other meetings that I’ve been in. Some of the faces were new. The men ranged in age from the early twenties to mid forties. There’s no mistaking an inmate at the jail. They all have short hair and wear bright orange jump suits. Deeper than the obvious physical differences there is an obvious personal distancing until the men get to know what you are about. Two guards dressed in black uniforms, two preachers, and about two dozen inmates. The little room was quite full.

          Bob introduced me to the men and gave me the floor. There’s no pulpit. There’s no music. There’s no altar. There’s no Cross on the wall. There is nothing about this room that resembles what most of us think of as church. Quite the contrary, this is the county jail.

           For several days the Lord had been impressing upon me to minister to the men using 2 Corinthians 5 as my text. I was to extemporaneously teach/preach through this chapter in the Bible and repeatedly emphasize a statement that came to me by the Spirit earlier in the week. The statement was this: “You might be in a place of
incarceration, but if you will receive the message of reconciliation, it will become and be unto you the beginning of your own personal resurrection.” Yes. There are social responsibilities and obligation to be met when our sins are such that they take us before a judge. But there is new life to be had and Christ is the source of this new life. It may take months or even years for us to work out the consequences of our sins to satisfy society but there is new life to be had, a good life to be lived, and a future that is full of promise.

          I started by sharing some of my own personal testimony and about how I became personally involved in this area of ministry. I prayed before getting into the Scripture text. The power and presence of the Holy Spirit paid no regard to the razor wire, locks and bars, or reasons these men were incarcerated. He filled that room with a wonderful heavenly anointing and we had church in the jailhouse. These men were like sponges soaking up the preached word of God. They were responsive. They were receptive. They were appreciative. We concluded by praying collectively with and for the men.

           The county runs on a strict schedule and when time is up you have to quit and move on. We did what we could in the hour that we had with the men. Their handshakes, the look in their eyes, and the smiles on their faces are things that have no equal. With tear filled eyes one of the men hugged me on his way out the door. I don’t know how that squared with the guards. But it squared just fine with me.


David Kralik
©David Kralik Ministries, Inc.
July 2003
Email:
matthewfivesix@hotmail.com
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