Last Saturday we had the privilege to provide a Yard Jam at Algoa Correctional Center. Two bands came to share the love of Jesus and their talents with the inmates, “Sanctified Blues” a christian blues band from the Eldon/Versailles area and the Cornerstone worship band from Sedalia. The Gospel was proclaimed through song, the Word, and Johnny’s testimony and men came to know Jesus. We were blessed to have the Algoa chaplain and two volunteers from Woodcrest chapel available to pray with the men, along with James and Johnny. Some came to pray to receive Christ and others came to pray for their families, the battles they’re facing, and more. Before we even began we circled up to pray and the chaplain prayed for “one man”, the one man that would be sitting in the back, all alone, perhaps pretending not to listen. The one man whose heart was being tugged on by the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day we gathered together again to give thanks for the work that Jesus did and the chaplain told us about “one man”, one man that was sitting in the background, listening, pondering…this one man knelt down and prayed a prayer of repentance and surrender to Jesus. Praise God!!!
One of my favorite moments of the day was when I looked out across the yard during the invitation, Mark was quietly strumming his guitar, men were praying with the volunteers and the chaplain in various places throughout and two inmates on different parts of the yard were proclaiming Jesus and His Gospel to the men around them. They were evangelizing in their neighborhood, in their community! One of these men had already been preparing for this day, he had written scripture passages on slips of paper to pass out during the concerts, he was encouraging the other believers in our Friday night chapel service to come alongside him and he was helping them with what to say and how to go about approaching a fellow offender who was lost, who may be a gang member. What an example to us all!
There are more stories but I’ll share this last one…a man came to the yard jam that had never been part of any kind of church service, he gave his heart to Jesus and now plans to come to the chapel. This is what the Gospel does, it changes hearts, it changes lives. And we are so very blessed to be a part of it.
Sing for the King,
Christy
Christy Hoagland 