I Was in Prison and You Visited Me

From the Archives: Winter 2011

Written by Debbie Edwards

When I became a wife in 1973, I never imagined that my husband and I would find ourselves involved in prison ministry in the years that lay ahead.

In the early 80’s, Avery County had a small prison, which held less than 100 men. My husband, Terry, a member of the Gideons, would visit the prison to hand out Bibles. During that era, it was common for prisons, with less than 100 men, to not have a state chaplain provided. A group of Christians, including Terry and I, began High Country Prison Ministry. The non-profit was able to hire a community-funded part-time chaplain.

Feeling Overwhelmed, Finding Grace

When I first began in prison ministry, I felt overwhelmed. I asked the Lord to not allow that fear to keep me from the opportunity of helping some of the men. Better to help a few than to help no one at all. At that time, the Bible studies began and since then, Terry and I have brought drama teams from ASU to the prison for performances and other activities one of which was a banana split party with all the toppings.

With community involvement, we feed them Thanksgiving dinner every year. I learned “if you feed them, they will come”. During the first few years, I kept the nursery so the parents could visit. But with the older kids, I learned that, more than anything, they just need to talk.

In 1998, the state closed the stand- alone Avery facility and combined it with Watauga and Yancey County’s small prisons. The joint prison has approximately 900 men. After they were combined in 2000, the Lord led me to begin preaching there once a month on Sundays.

At the same time, some of the women on the ministry’s board contacted other churches and organizations to donate food for men’s Christmas dinner, which is spread out over three nights. God’s given us favor in that we never run out of food. The weather has not always cooperated, but we’ve never had to cancel. It’s the only home-cooked meal these men get all year and it means a lot to them, and us. The prison’s choir with their beautiful voices and assorted instruments provide the music.

Call on My Life to Share His Love

I knew I had a call on my life to preach the gospel, in the late 90’s. This was confirmed to me by a dream. The message of the dream was “in the last days, women would preach the gospel with a strong anointing”. I wasn’t real excited about this news because I knew with the call would come persecutions from people who would not understand. I was concerned about drawing attention to myself, but I knew the Lord had done a work in me about His grace and love.

I knew the definition of grace found in the dictionary but I had a big problem with condemnation. My salvation was performance-based, which came from church. But it was because of the revelation of 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,” that I was set free. That truth burned so deep within me that it changed my outlook on God, my ministry and life itself.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could never do anything to make God love me less or more. He loves me because I am His child. His spiritual DNA is in my spirit.

This truth had to be shared with the men at the prison. They were condemned for their crimes by the state. They were condemned for their crimes by society. They condemned themselves but mostly the enemy condemned them even if they had accepted Jesus. It was hard for them to walk away from guilt and condemnation.

I believe they should be punished for their crimes but I also believe that , after they receive Jesus, they should be able to walk in freedom in Jesus. They don’t attend the church services so they will be loved more, but so that they will love God more. I preach a strong grace message of love, their birthright as a child of God. I’ve seen men set free although they are still behind razor wire. They don’t have to be told how horrible their crimes were – they know that already. They are preached a complete work of Christ at the cross -- He was the total sacrifice. He was crucified between two inmates. One chose Him and one didn’t.

Setting Captives Free

The desire of my heart is to see the captive set free. Most of the men will never literally be set free but a great many of them are free in their souls. God has given me truth, His truth, and I just pass it along to the men so they can enter back into society.

Behavior modification isn’t the answer. The answer is a heart transformation. The heart of the gospel for these men is like a fire in my bones. These men are my brothers. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. I am constrained and cannot do anything else but tell the good news that Jesus came to set the captive free. They can be freer on the inside, behind concrete walls, than most people are on the outside. This is my heart, this is my passion.