Proclaiming Christ Behind Bars
CENTRAL US REGION: NEWTON, IOWA
Proclaiming Christ Behind Bars
God is powerfully changing lives through New Life Prison Church, a new Home Missions-supported prison ministry at the Newton Correctional Facility.
Inmates are meeting Christ through this new church's weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies, led by pastor Rick Admiraal. "Guys have begun to open up their lives in this setting, sharing new insights with one another. It has been a joy to be able to pray for one another. We are building community day by day through the power of the Holy Spirit," he says.
Admiraal specifically points to an inmate named Carlos for an example of how God is at work at New Life. "One of our great joys is seeing Carlos' face as he rolls into Bible study in his wheelchair," says Admiraal. "Carlos always has a big smile on his face. He sets the bar high for us by praying for those in solitary confinement and remembering to pray for his enemies. He also blesses our group with diversity by praying in Spanish. He enjoys the Spanish-English parallel Bible given to him by New Life."
For Admiraal, prison ministry is a passion, fostered through his experiences volunteering in a Michigan prison and partaking in a ten-week internship with Home Missions-supported Cornerstone Prison Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota during the summer of 2009. "I'm grateful for what God has done so far," he says. "I am hoping He will grow the church both in numbers and spiritual maturity by the power of His Spirit."
—Background information sourced from the December 2010 "Ministry Messenger" written by Donna Biddle.
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