VOICES BEHIND WALLS
Location: Medium Security Correctional Centre, Barracks Road, Uyo, Nigeria
Agent B.B.’s Account
I watched Agent E.R go for prison evangelism even though we had schoolwork and a busy schedule. She still made time to go—and she was quite consistent about it. I felt challenged, since I also wanted to be more involved in evangelism.
Weeks later, I messaged Agent M.M and asked if I could join the prison team, and I was allowed to.
On my first day, I didn’t really know what to expect—it was my first time. The chaplain came to escort us into the prison yard, accompanied by some inmates.
There were many prisoners. It felt like a small community. Interestingly, I saw some people selling goods. Yes, I know you’re wondering how they got the goods, right?
At some point, an inmate asked me for money, and out of compassion or maybe pressure, I gave him some. I was later rebuked because I wasn’t supposed to give money to an inmate without permission.
When we arrived at our destination, there were already prisoners waiting for us. Wow! Do people in prison actually want to know God? I thought.
There were all kinds of people there: some looked healthy, some didn’t even look like prisoners, and some looked like mini-dons. Different people came for the program.
At the Hall, we were led to a high table. I stayed at the high table while my partners took turns ministering to the prisoners; one led the praise and worship while another took the word.
At a point, I noticed Agent E.R crying; it seemed she had a burden for the prisoners. Again, my thoughts wandered to how someone could be this invested in the prisoners. I tried to pray in the background as my partners ministered. Afterwards, we met the chaplain, and he exhorted us, appreciated our coming, and we left shortly after.
Agent E.R.’s Account
I started prison evangelism because I had been talking to the head of the evangelism team about wanting to go on outreaches. I wanted to be able to go out and engage more with people. I told him that whatever comes up, I’d like to go for it. Then, the prison evangelism came up.
I remember that sometime in 2018 or 2019, Pastor Ita and some brethren went to visit a brother who was in prison. Back then, I didn’t go. I had my reasons, and one of them was fear — I wasn’t bold enough.
When Pastor Ita came back, he preached about how one of the criteria Jesus gave in Matthew 25:36 to be welcomed into God’s Kingdom was, “I was in prison, and you visited me.”
The first day I went, I wore my yellow polka dot dress. I was surprised to see there was a stage—and we had to preach from a pulpit! I was so scared. We also had to sit in the lectern area. It felt like a proper church setup. I told myself, “Okay, well… Agent M.M is here.” He had training in preaching, so I just followed his lead. He preached that day and informed me that I would preach on later dates. I eventually did, and my first class was on repentance.
Fast forward a couple of months, here I was again with Agent B.B, and M.M. There were maybe over a hundred men present during the meeting. I looked at them, and I just felt so much pity. Some of them had sores on their skin. You could look into their eyes and see emptiness—I mean a kind of weariness, and likely, they were bored to death with the same routine every day. Many hadn’t seen their loved ones. Some didn’t even know how long they were going to be there. Some were on death row. Many had diseases. They were just going through a lot.
And of course, desperation draws people to God. So they all came to church with some kind of hope, that maybe God could touch and heal some wounds deep inside.
I realised that in environments like this, people are either very vulnerable or very hardened. And many of these men seemed vulnerable. That made me think: if we can be consistent in bringing the Word to them, in helping them find relief, at least on the inside, we’d be doing the world a lot of good.
Different outcomes were possible for the prisoners; some of them could be freed and sent back into society. And if prison is supposed to be a time of rehabilitation, of washing and cleansing, and they come out not cleansed, still broken and bitter, it’s going to be a problem for everyone else outside.
Agent M.M.’s Account
We came to continue our BBS series (BBS stands for Believer’s Bible School, a series of foundational teachings from Hebrews 6:1–3). I taught Water Baptism, emphasising the significance of baptism to our Christian experience. The message concluded with a Q&A session in which the inmates enthusiastically participated, asking numerous questions. Although we were able to answer many of their questions, we could not address all of them, as we were pressed for time.
One of the inmates expressed heartfelt gratitude to our team for consistently coming to share the truth of the gospel with them. In his speech, he noted how the message preached during one of our previous visits, which focused on repentance from dead works, had brought much light and positive change to his mind. He mentioned that he had since cultivated a new mindset towards life in general, which had led to improvements in his relationship with God.
Following this, our team prayed and laid hands on some of the inmates who had come forward in response to a call for those who had broken promises to God and others. Approximately 30 people (by estimation) came forward to repent, renounce their failures, and seek relief from their broken promises.
After the service, we met with the chaplain in his office. He requested that we pray with him, which we did. We also shared some prophetic words with him before we dismissed.
ATTENDANCE:
Approximately 100 men.
Sis B.B & E.R, and Bro M.M
12th Jun 2024
© God’s Lighthouse 2025
