Setting the Captives
Free
By Juan Pablo Jara, Executive Director, Asociación Confraternidad Carcelaria( Prison Fellowship Colombia)
For many years, Luis Arturo was involved in criminal activities in Medellín, Colombia. Like many others caught in cycles of violence, he eventually ended up behind bars. But it was at Bellavista Prison in Medellín that he encountered true freedom.
In prison, Luis began attending a small prayer group and gradually grew in his faith. He received God’ s grace, was discipled, and soon became a multiplying leader, sharing the message of freedom from cell to cell.
The ministry that reached Luis began nearly 40 years ago when One Mission Society( OMS) began ministering to inmates at Bellavista. At that time, the prison was one of the most violent prisons on Earth, with murders reaching 20 per month.
In partnership with Prison Fellowship Colombia, OMS recognized that the mission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ includes prisons. Prisoners are on God’ s heart and are part of the mission we have as disciples and followers of Christ. This truth is expressed when Jesus tells his disciples,“ I was in prison and you came to me”( Matthew 25:36).
Over the past four decades, countless
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