PRISONS

When someone mentions prison ministry, what comes to your mind? Do you think of walking behind cold iron bars, angry men and women in chains and fear for your personal safety? While prison ministry does involve iron bars and broken people, I have never truly feared for my safety any more than I have when on the mission field in the Dominican Republic. In fact, First New Testament Church’s prison ministry is one of relationships and joy. For over 25 years, our body of believers has been blessed to be a part of this challenging, but rewarding mission field of prison ministry. Our members regularly lead worship services, preach and teach Bible studies at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) and the East Baton Rouge parish prison. 

Every time we enter one of these facilities we are greeted by faces that we know; real people with lives that have been ruined by sin. Our goal is not to break them further, but to bring them Jesus who alone is the answer for their sin and the only way to a relationship with God. There is hope for those who receive the Gospel and a brand new life in Jesus, and we earnestly want these men and women to experience this hope. Please pray for us as we minister to those who are so often despised by society. It was Jesus who promised that He would personally reward those who cared for prisoners by saying, “…I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:36). Come and join in His reward as we minister to our Savior.