Can prisoners be transformed by the gospel? In theory, we know the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. But here are three recent examples where that is exactly what has happened in practice.
‘C’ came from a church background but had lost his faith when his little nephew died. By the time he was released from prison he had rediscovered his relationship with God and was committed to serving him in the mission context in a local church. ‘J’ decided, when he came to prison, that it was now or never in terms of finding out about Christianity. He will be baptised shortly, and is seeking to give his life to Jesus. ‘S’ has been a Christian for a number of years but has struggled with drugs. Although very knowledgeable about Jesus, the basics of his faith have been rebuilt, and he too is now considering baptism. That is a major step for him, because, as he says, ‘It’s a once and for all’ — when he is baptised, there is no turning back to his old ways.
Prisons edition
The common denominator between ‘C’, ‘J’ and ‘S’ is that they have all recently completed the specially-devised Christianity Explored Prisons Edition (CEPE). The course was launched late last year after four years of research, developing and trialling at a number of penal institutions around the UK. CEPE is a version of the well-known Christianity Explored course (published by The Good Book Company), which has made a significant impact in the UK and abroad in the past ten years. It is now being used in 80 countries worldwide and has been translated into more than 25 different languages. In the 18 months or so since the reformulated third edition was unveiled, over 10,000 DVDs and 100,000 handbooks have been sold.
