US Prison Ministry celebrates over 250 baptisms in Denver jail
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The God Behind Bars US Christian prison ministry has been celebrating the recent baptisms of 265 inmates at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, with many of the women accepting Christ as their Savior and being baptized there and then, CBN News reports.
Founded in 2009 by CEO Jake Bodine, God Behind Bars has been sharing the Gospel and helping male and female prisoners both during their jail terms and after their release. The ministry partners with churches across the US to “transform the lives of prison inmates and their families” with the love of God through focusing on their physical, spiritual, and relational needs.
The work is vitally important: “Most prisoners—as many as 92% of all incarcerated individuals—will be released back to society at some point, and 75% of them will return to prison within three years,” the ministry website explains.
Speaking to CBN, Bodine said the ministry was launched after a team led inmates in worship at a prison in Nevada in 2009. The inmates poured into the room and began to sing and dance with love for God. “Our team began to dream, what if we were able to reproduce this in 5,000 prisons around the world,” Bodine attested. “We were able to launch in prisons in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, and Texas. Wardens began to tell us that the culture in the prison is changing every single day, that the men and women in the prison are improving their outlook on self-worth. We’re watching inmates and families be restored for the very first time. The most common thing our team hears is that for one hour, they didn’t feel like they were in prison.”
At the weekend the ministry shared on Instagram the exciting news that 265 women had been baptized in the Denver prison; the post included moving photos of women at the moment of baptism: “265 female inmates baptized at our Denver Women’s Correctional Facility Many of the women gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized on the spot! REVIVAL BEHIND BARS!!” One of the ladies attested after her baptism: “I felt surrounded by family and that’s what made the experience significant and meaningful.”