What I did in London

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while but I’ve been meaning to give you all an update on what I was doing in London for Leadership school.

Much like DTS, the school of Leadership and Urban Ministry Development had weekly teachings on in depth on different subjects such as creating a Christ-centered culture in leadership, burnout, time management, the value of feedback and communication, the illusion of control, excellence vs. perfection, servant leadership, having a Biblical worldview, and more.

Every week we would also take part in sharing the gospel and feeding the homeless in Camden. This was a wonderful opportunity to meet strangers, tell them about Jesus, hear about their lives, invite them to church, and more.

As members of the leadership school we were required to come up with some sort of project to start up in order to learn how to lead as a real-life experience. We all prayed about it and came back with our project ideas. A few months before I came across a young woman and her story: she had been locked up and tortured daily by her mom’s boyfriend when she was about four years old. She almost bled to death from one of these incidents, was brought to the ER by her mom. From that day on her mom was never seen again and the hospital had difficulty identifying who this girl was. She went on to lead a troubled life between an abusive foster care home and sometimes living with her grandmother. This girl had learned the behavior she had grown up with and was always getting in fights, stealing, doing drugs, drinking, and getting into abusive relationships. She was often in and out of juvenile detention centers and eventually got sentenced to three years in prison as a young adult.

I’m hearing this story and I’m shocked at my shift in perspective. I have always looked at convicted felons as people that you can never trust again, dangerous, and people you should avoid at all costs. I have rarely if ever heard the life story of someone and their life leading up to a severe crime or a lifestyle of crime. In the United Kingdom’s female prison HMP Bronzefield 56% of women had reported to being victims of domestic abuse in the past while 57% had reported to working in the sex industry with the desire to leave. The young woman I had mentioned before claimed that she had never felt loved or cared for in her life until she went to juvie. Digging into all this I decided to make it my project to start developing a prison ministry.

What is the purpose of jail or prison? One would think that these government institutions serve two major purposes:

1. To punish people for their crimes.

2. To teach them a lesson so they never turn back to a life of crime.

However, the prison system fails on the second point. According to the Department of Justice, 76% of inmates studied were arrested again within 5 years of their release. There are several factors that make it difficult for a convicted felon to turn their life around upon release. Most employers refuse to hire a convicted felon, they often leave prison with no money, no housing, limited education, or limited skills that to help with employment. These people often turn right back to the same friends or family members that are likely going to influence them in a way that results in them returning to their former lifestyle. It seems that the system in itself is broken and fails to accomplish what it is meant to do.

But we serve a God who not only loves justice but offers mercy through His great love for us. And as the church we are called to be an example of His love and of His grace.

Knowing all this I started to do some research on prison ministry. One of the first things I learned from research is that because of the trauma and abandonment issues many of them have developed, it is not wise to start a short-term ministry in a prison setting. It could easily cause more harm than good. I also learned from talking to leaders as well as the base leader that the base was starting to partner with a prison ministry. So it’s incredibly exciting to see how God had also been placing it on the hearts of those on base to start something in a commonly overlooked opportunity for ministry.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Matthew 25:34-40 ESV

So I have been earnestly researching the prison system of the U.K., reading articles on other prison ministries, obtaining different strategies and ideas, praying about everything, taking notes and interviewing different people such as correctional officers, getting detailed testimonials from convicted felons, and building a prayer list of names of convicted felons in the area.

I have been back in the U.S. for a while now since my visa was close to its expiration date when LUMD ended. Times are a little uncertain with the pandemic and its continual effect on us. But when everything clears up I will be aiming to apply for a visa so I can return to YWAM London Radiant as a full time missionary.

If you managed to read all this thank you so much…I realize it was absurdly long. I really appreciate all your prayers, financial support, and words of encouragement over this last year. Getting to have somewhat of a team behind me to help as I continue to share the good news is seriously incredible.

Anyway, I’m thinking with my next post that I’ll try to aim for more of a story time than a general description of what’s been happening. Thank you all once again, and I’ll try to keep you posted!