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.
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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!
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