a bruised reed He will not break...

One chilly fall evening, I toured the once violence ridden
old maximum security Colorado State Penitentiary in
Canon city. It was like so many visits, walking the cell
blocks past darkened 5x9 cages, the men clutching the
bars staring at us with their dead eyes, a grate overhead
to catch the garbage hurled from the upper tiers.
We tried that evening to visit the solitary cell block where
the men were locked up 23 out of 24 hours. By an unusual
move we had been denied permission. The screams from
the cell blocks told us why.

That night I spoke to a packed chapel, the rear pews filled
with men with those same dead eyes. But I saw some of
them come alive as the spirit of God moved powerfully in
that jammed prison room. As the inmates were being marched
out two-by-two, one young lad – he looked about the age of
my oldest son – grabbed my arm. His eyes sparkled as he spoke,
he said, “I have no family and no friends.” Then His voice faltered
for a moment, “but thank you Mr.Colson, thank you. Six months
ago I wrote to you and you matched me up with a family in
Colorado Springs. Their name is Antonsen; they have been
writing and visiting me.” Tears began to roll down his cheeks,
yet he had the most radiant expression. “I just want you to know,
Mr.Colson, that for the first time in my life, I have
hope and a reason to live.”

Hope and a reason to live – that’s what
Prison Fellowship is all about.
The Good News of Jesus Christ must be preached to those locked
behind prison bars that they too might share the greatest gift
known to man – the gift of God’s Son.
You may be thinking that a sentence of more than seven years in
the Colorado State Penitentiary must mean a man committed a
serious crime. Probably true. So you say to yourself, “he’s getting
what he deserves. Why do we worry about convicts?”

Pause a moment to remember Jesus at the end of his ministry.
On the last day of his life, he was taken from his solitary cell on
death row, he was marched up that hill, spat upon, ridiculed,
mocked, beaten, the blood running down his temples from the
crown of thorns placed on his head. Then he was left to hang from
a cross at Golgotha, the place of the skull, to die. And he did so
as much for that young man in that Colorado prison as he did
for you and me.

Those of us who have committed our lives to
follow Christ are also committed to lay our
lives down for others, as he did for us.
We are commanded to do this. Every expert agrees that prisons
do not and cannot rehabilitate. That is why, according to some
statistics. four out of five crimes are committed by ex-convicts
Prisons merely recycle the criminals of society, often turning
them out even more violent and dangerous to society
than when they entered. We believe that the life-changing power
of Jesus Christ is the best hope inside the prisons.
We believe this by faith, and we know it by experience.
Instead of coming out of prison bitter and defiant to plague
society, those who have truly accepted Christ and become part
of a loving, caring Christian community return as law-abiding
citizens. This is the way to attack the crime problem at its root.
Thus, this ministry can have vital social benefits, but even more
importantly, Prison Fellowship is a vehicle through which
followers of Jesus Christ can heed his clear command to
go into the prisons ( see Matt 25)

It is important for you to know that our goal is not to build
a new para-church organization with an extensive paid staff.
Often such groups give the church an excuse not to get involved
by taking over its legitimate functions: often they bypass the
church. Our ministry on the contrary, is to be an exhorter,
an enabler, a facilitator; our goal is to encourage the
local church and the local Christian
community to become personally committed
and involved. ..


The task before us is tough. Make no mistake;
there are no panaceas. Bringing Christ into the prison is not
like waving a magic wand and then watching miracles happen.
It is a day in, day out, slugging away in the trenches.
There will be setbacks and disappointments. We deal with
people who had a lifetime of rejection; we cannot expect
instant results. Instead, we need to be patient and persevering,
showing care and love to those- like the young man in the
Colorado prison – who are among the most unloved in our
society. When they slip and fall, we need to pick them up.
Above all, we must remember that God measures our success
not in numbers won, but by the faithfulness of our
own hearts. If we are faithful, he will give the increase.

I believe that God is going to perform a mighty reforming
work in the prisons and institution… that he is raising up
people like you and me as part of his army, the hands
and feet that perform the labors...

Yours in His Service,
Chuck Colson

author's note:
I started joining Prison Fellowship ministry when I was 18 years old
(I’m the youngest). My passion to serve the inmates started when
I was 15years old. One day as I read through my bible, I came to
this following passage:

Matthew 25:

The Final Judgment
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence,
and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates
the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “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 creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave
me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you
cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we
ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you
something to drink? ..
39 When did we ever see you sick or in p
rison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth,
when you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say,
‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his demons.
42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty,
and you didn’t give me a drink.
43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home.
I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing.
I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused
to help the least of these my brothers and sisters,
you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

From that day onward there were a conviction and a passion
in my heart that I should go and serve the prisoner though
I do not have the access and to go in, I didn’t even know there
is such ministry like Prison Fellowship. I remember praying to
God for those who are in prison and for those who were arrested
for the gospel sake. 2years went by and I felt impossible that I
could serve the prisoners plus I do not have the qualification
to go in. One day there’s one brother in our church, he
approached me (which is my current boss) and ask me to work
for him in their new office little did I know that he is the Chairman
of Prison Fellowship in our state. The day I went to their new
office he informed me that I’m going to work with Prison Fellowship.
I was amazed how God answered my prayer.

It is a great privileged to serve God inside the prison.
Our Executive Director of PF always said this
“whenever we visited the prisoners we are not bringing Christ in,
we are visiting Christ and we are all just the same with the inmates,
a sinner, in fact we sinned in our daily lives, but the difference
is they got caught and we don’t”

It’s always a joy whenever it’s my turn to visit them and every
time we step out of the prison I always feel refreshed, revived.
I don’t know why, but just to fellowship and minister to those
inmates reminded me of who I am and what Christ has done
for mankind, his love and sacrifice. I can see some of the inmates
though they are locked up physically but I can see freedom in
their soul through their eyes, you can see a glimpse of joy
and peace written all over their face.

God’s love covers a multitude of sin. There’s one particular guy,
I was told by our chairman that he raped his cousin while she
was still 9years old, I was indignant at first when I heard but
the Lord taught me not to look at him through my physical eyes
instead look through the eyes of Christ. Every volunteer must
abound not just in good works but also in love. Same goes to me,
I am also unworthy but Christ look at me beyond my weaknesses
and sins. It takes Christ love for me to embrace them without judging,
to comfort instead of condemning and look into their eyes
and love them unreservedly.

Ephesians 3
17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp
how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the
fullness of God.

The Prison Fellowship team has put it this way.
The right reasons to join.
What are the right reasons for going into prison?
First of all a deep conviction that God is sending you there
for Christian service. You should go in obedience to Christ’s call…
The other right reason for joining this ministry is out of love for
inmates – people numbered among the world’s forgotten.
If you really love these people, you won’t use them for your selfish
ambition. Your purpose will be loving words and actions to point
them to Jesus Christ, who is the author and the perfector of authentic
love. Under the mandate of love, you also won’t get discourage
as easily when the going gets tough.

Like what Mr.Chuck Colson wrote, this is not an easy task,
sometimes the result would be very disappointing,
I remember one day there’s a lady called me up and question
me why do we need to serve the prisoners, she told me they
deserve it! So on and so fort... Many times we invited pastors,
elders, leaders, to come and join, fulfill and take heed what
Jesus said in Matt 25, though the respond was very discouraging
but the Lord was faithful all through the way.

On that glorious day,
When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
I want to hear him saying this to me
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you
from the creation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you fed me.
I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
I was naked, and you gave me clothing.
I was sick, and you cared for me.
I was in prison, and you visited me.’