OMS Outreach January-March 2015 | Page 4

Years ago, violence on the streets outside the prison came inside the prison walls as men were murdered by opposing gang members. At one point in Bellavista’s history, more than 50 murders a month were committed … many of them in the very cell where I was sitting, a cell with a dark history, where blood had streamed down the outside stairwell from the bodies piled and left in that cell. Bellavista had become one of the most violent prisons in the world. So That All May Hear By Dean Davis, Executive Director, Every Community for Christ But today is different. As the Gospel has spread in Bellavista, murders have drastically declined. The men shared how they prayed together in that cell, held one another accountable for personal purity, strategized for getting the Gospel and discipleship materials to other prisoners, and studied God’s Word. My anxiety faded as they talked. Then came a moment I will never forget. With exuberance and passion, they sang, “I am free, I am free, Jesus broke the chains that bound me, and I am free.” Now, all fear in my heart was gone. I sat with redeemed men, brothers in Christ, whose love for Jesus was just as strong and focused as mine. I wept unashamedly as they sang. I was not with strangers; I was with a deeply loved part of God’s forever family! A big lesson in leveraging I’ve learned involves redeemed prisoners who have been released from Bellavista. Many former prisoners are now involved in church and community leadership, using what God taught them while in prison to live a very different life now. Today, more than 30 congregations across Colombia trace their roots to Bellavista. Changed men, once criminals who met Jesus and were equipped for ministry in prison, are now sharing the Gospel, making disciples, and planting new churches. More than 40 men have been transformed from criminals to pastors and evangelists. Many others are key church leaders. God is leveraging the lives of forgiven criminals to bring glory to his name. 4 The challenge we face as followers of Jesus is huge. He wants us to make disciples of all nations. Jesus wants us to proclaim the Good News to every person. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. He has committed to us this message of reconciliation. And he wants us to share it with the whole world! 5