Prison Prevention Ministry Helps Redirect Lives

Fifteen-year-old Joe was angry, rebellious, defiant ... and on track to a life in prison. You could say Joe’s direction in life was set from the start — his father was in prison, and his mom had her hands full with seven children.

      By age 13 he did whatever he wanted. He was in trouble at school, truant, and involved in drugs and petty crimes.

      So, the Department of Juvenile Justice sent Joe to a youth ranch for at-risk boys. Joe’s life was about to take a new direction ...

      Here’s Life Prison Ministry staffer, Johnnie Thompson, who leads a Bible study at the ranch, had gotten approval to launch a Holistic Hardware life skills class (a video course originally developed in a Christian homeless shelter. It builds a "toolkit" of Bible-based teachings in 10 areas such as responsibility, work, planning, finances, and faith. It also features illustrative dramas and helpful notes.)

      Joe was non-communicative when he first came. He wouldn’t talk about himself and felt his problems were someone else’s fault.

      From the Responsibility Tool, Joe learned to accept responsibility for his own future and to look at changes he needed to make. Finally, he began to open up about his struggles.

      He also learned about the forgiving love of Jesus Christ. And it wasn’t long before Joe accepted Christ as His personal Savior!

      Johnnie tries to share personally with each resident about God’s love. He works hard to instill in them the Faith Tool. One way he accomplishes that is through his love of gardening.

      Johnnie has planted a small garden at the ranch. He invites individual boys to garden with him. He shares about his faith in God, and he asks the boys about their own spiritual journey. During this time, Johnnie plants seeds of faith and the Gospel.

      Since last fall, Johnnie has had 24 boys complete the course, and every one — including Joe — has received Christ or re-dedicated his life to Christ! Some have led friends to Christ and invited others to join them during Johnnie’s Bible study.

      Holistic Hardware and Johnnie’s faithful guidance have given these young men a vision of a different life — one that does not include prison — and tools to realize their dreams by taking small but steady steps and trusting God. At first, none of the boys can imagine a different life. But soon they begin to dream ... they have hope.

Some Helpful Links:
Holistic Hardware | Broken Shackle Ranch | Prison Ministry of Here's Life Inner City