We all long to be a part of something bigger than ourselves…to be people that give themselves to a cause that they believe in daily.
Whether it is buying into the lies of a group called ISIS, packing up everything to move to the Middle East all to join their forces, or the missionary, traveling all over the world and preaching the Gospel.
Maybe you have struggled with this, buying into the lie that you were worthless and felt like taking your life was the only option.
Was your darkest time when you miscarried your child, or maybe when your marriage was failing? It could have been that relationship that you knew you should have never been in, that in the end all you felt was broken, but at the time you were blinded by self desire?
We’ve all had darkness rage inside of us at some point and looked for hope. Even just a glimmer of light…wanting the pain we felt, the hurt, the despair to just disappear!
From a young age I have wanted to share Jesus with hurting people, people like you and me, who have felt hurt and pain. Those have looked for just a glimmer of light in the wrong places before.
This brings me to where I am today, living out part of my dream to reach people. For nearly three years, I worked for Mike Barber Ministries | PRO-CLAIM.TV were I get the opportunity to go into prisons and jails monthly and help this ministry share the message of Jesus Christ.
People ask me often “Is it hard to go into prison and minister to people who *fill in what your blank would be*?”
My answer is simply “no”.
When I wake up every day, I have the opportunity to be a part of something bigger then myself, something that is taking light into a very dark place, to be a part of seeing people’s hurt healed and worth regained.
I have the opportunity fulfill Isaiah 61:1:
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
This is why I can say no, it is not hard for me to minister to people in prison, regardless of what they have done, because I know Jesus died for their sins and to save their souls just as much as He died to save me from mine.
I love to share this good news with them, to let them know that their freedom in Christ can’t even be compared to the drugs, alcohol, sex, self-harm, stealing, or fights that might have temporally given them a high, or a sense of pleasure or temporally given them a sense of love and worth.
I have the opportunity to see further then I can with my eyes, to look past a prison sentence and look into the hearts of hurting people, people that much of society has given up and forgotten about.
I get to help lead these people behind bars to the release of themselves and their sin in surrender to Christ, and this is true freedom.
I’ve meet some of the freest people I know behind bars, because they have found Jesus, who can set a person free regardless of their physical address. I have also met those who are bound by their sins and have not surrendered their lives to Jesus.
Every time I go into prison get the opportunity to reach those people who are bound and to encourage those waiting for their inward freedom to manifest physically.
One of the biggest mission fields in the world is in our own backyard. The United States has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. The total incarcerated population in the U.S. is a staggering 2.4 million – a 500% increase over the past 30 years. Prison has not been proven as rehabilitation for behavior, as two-thirds of prisoners will reoffend.
These offenders are the United States of America’s. They are the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, children, and friends.
And they need us all across the U.S. to unite, to look beyond our church walls, to look beyond our busy schedules, to look beyond our checkbooks, and to look beyond their mistakes.
Over half of these offenders are under 40 years old, but in the ministry where I work, over 60% of our contributors are over 50 years old.
It’s time that our generation rises up, and we stop depending on our parents and grandparents to fight our battles. This is a battle we’ve been ignoring, while consumed in our social media lives. Instead of fighting for a cause, we would often rather just hit the ‘like’ button on the fan pages of the charities we think are relevant.
I believe Jesus is coming soon, and even if He doesn’t in my lifetime, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to reach my generation wherever they are. God has not forgotten them and I refuse to as well.
I prayed this prayer and you can too, “God help me look past my self, help me think bigger, be bolder, and engraft me into You. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
God has not stopped answering that prayer, I don’t believe He ever will. I encourage you to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of those behind bars.
I remember when the earthquake hit Haiti, churches all across the US and the world rushed in to help a country in the midst of a tragedy. I remember pulling out all the cash in my wallet I had and giving it as the offering plate passed to help those that were hurting.
We have given our time and money to many worthy missions over the years, yet we have neglected the prisons, and the amount of people in prison in the United States of America is a tragedy. We are the leaders and pioneers of so much, yet we are failing our families. It’s time for the church to roll up their sleeves and get involved in fixing this injustice.
We can point fingers as to why this continues to happen and watch generations pass with no resolution, or we can unite for a common cause, laying aside religious differences and fight for restoration in the families of this country.
Restoration comes from healing, and healing comes from Jesus, not time spent behind bars.This is why we see so many people reoffend, and this is why we see children follow in the wrong footsteps. Time alone will never heal a person’s spirit, soul, and body but Jesus can, and longs to.
God depends on us to be His hands and feet in this earth. I have the opportunity to sit down and share the freedom I have found in Christ Jesus to prostitutes, drug addicts, murders, thieves, people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and those who have committed unspeakable crimes.
I have the opportunity to work for a cause I believe in, sowing my time, my money, and my prayers.
I pray that God is tugging on your heart right now to help make a difference and turn this tragedy into a testimony.
If you are a pray-er, pray for those behind bars and their families they have left behind. If you are prospering, give of your finances to this cause, and fund the gospel being preached. If you are able, then put your boots on the ground come into prison or jail as a volunteer.
I knew I couldn’t go to Haiti but I could fund someone too, even with the few dollars I had. I could pray for the people. That could be you, or God could be tugging your heart to do all three.
Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6 AMP)
So what is God leading you to do? Is it to plant or to water? He promised he would bring the increase. Let’s unite and all do our part, ministries like Mike Barber Ministries | PRO-CLAIM.TV can’t do what they do with out people like you and me. In fact, they cease to exists with out the backing of the church.
Today I encourage you to be a part of something bigger then yourself.
Love in Him,
Shellby Nalette