By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
WINNSBORO, La. (LBM) – A spiritual awakening is taking place inside Franklin Parish Detention Center, with 12 incarcerated men celebrating freedom in Christ through baptism on April 12.
Each of the inmates, who are serving sentences ranging from six months to 10 years, were met with cheers as the men individually emerged from the water in a horse trough during a worship service.
Cary Collier, a member with Friendship Baptist Church, Baskin, said watching the men step in and out of the water was a powerful reminder that no wall can stop the reach of God’s grace.
“There is no greater joy than seeing new creations emerge, chains broken and lives changed forever behind those bars,” Collier told the Baptist Message. “Praise God for His Amazing Grace and Mercy. We’ve had the opportunity to witness these moments at the prison with over 100 inmates, and it gets sweeter and sweeter.”
The baptisms took place six days after the inmates turned to Christ during a worship service attended by 55 inside the detention center. Collier said once they began praying and singing the song “Amazing Grace,” the Holy Spirit moved among the inmates, prompting 19 of them to accept Jesus.
Since the church began ministering inside the detention center in 2023, they have seen 170 inmates come to Christ.
Every other Tuesday evening, seven members will pray with the inmates, lead in song and share the Gospel with them. Additionally, the church provides Bibles and other literature to help the men grow in faith.
The church team members also disciple the inmates by encouraging inmates to attend small group Bible study; and they distribute literature to new believers.
“These individuals have now changed their life around and become a new creation,” Collier said. “It was so encouraging to see this revival happen inside these walls. Hopefully, when these new Christians are released, they can take their newfound faith back to their homes.”
Prentis Gandy, pastor to Friendship Baptist, echoed the thought.
“It’s been amazing to experience and observe the work that God’s doing in the lives of the inmates,” he said. “I had several of the guys recognize me after their release from prison and thank us for coming and worshipping with them. Our number one goal, of course, is to introduce them to the Gospel, but secondly, we want to encourage those who know Christ to be steadfast in their faith.”
