Last week I was talking with Chris, an inmate in the jail. We spent a couple minutes in light conversation when he decided to quit wasting time and get to the point. “Chaplain,” he said, “I think I have done too many things in my life for God to ever be able to forgive me.”
That is a scary thought when you think about it, to believe that as a result of our sins, our mistakes, our bad decisions, God would permanently turn away from us. This was not the first time that an inmate had shared that concern with me over the years. Sometimes when we begin to face the consequences of our choices and the pain we have caused others we can be overwhelmed to the point that redemption no longer seems to be a possibility. That was where Chris found himself on this particular afternoon.
Part of the work of the Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries is to share the Gospel with people like Chris and to help them find the faith and hope to know that redemption is not only possible, it is where God is calling us.
Hope on the Inside is a program of the Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries that brings people of faith from every church and denomination together to join hands as we surround the jail with prayers, lifting up the inmates, their families, the jail staff, and anyone else whose life has been touched by crime and incarceration. Following the prayer circle around the jail, trained volunteers go into the jail and into the dorms to minister to the men and women who are there. It is a life changing experience, and it always begins with prayer.
-Chaplain Robert Wolfe
