Get Out From Behind The Fence - Witnessing Series

Mark 16:15

Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation.

Jesus did not say “stay in the church”, He said, “Go into the world..”.

Years ago, an organization brought me into a prison facility to share the Gospel in a yard event. The yard is a large dirt area surrounded by a cage. On this particular day I arrived to see the stage set up on the outside of the fence. I didn’t like that because I find it communicates to the inmates that I want to be separated from them. I saw a band performing and noticed only a handful of inmates were paying them attention. The remaining hundreds of inmates were out socializing, working out and playing basketball as this was there rare time to be outside. The man singing stopped and said, “Hey everybody, come closer.” Nobody came closer and they all continued to engage in their activities.

About 30 minutes prior to my time to speak, I turned to a guy I had brought with me and said, “It’s time to go fishing.” When he asked what I meant, I told him that Jesus has called us to be fishers of men and fish don’t just jump into the boat, we’ve got to go out to where they are!

I walked into the workout area and began training with inmates and building relationship with them. I invited them to come listen to what I was going to share and to watch the feats of strength. I went back to the sound guy and asked him to get me a mic that would allow me to leave the stage area, walk out into the yard and share with the inmates. He immediately began connecting extensions to the mic cord.

By the time I was ready to speak and had stepped thru the fence, 800 inmates had gathered around to receive the message and when I gave the invitation to allow Jesus into their hearts, hundreds accepted! A good Gospel singer friend joined me and sang Amazing Grace. Hundreds of inmates lifted their hands to Heaven and a worship service broke out within the walls of the penitentiary as these men's voices echoed throughout the yard.

Afterward, dozens of the men surrounded me and began to share with me their life stories. That’s when one of them looked at me and said, “You wanna know why we like you?” When I asked why they like me he responded, “Did you hear that man from the stage earlier when he told us to come closer?” This inmate said, “We won’t come close to them cause they won’t come close to us. You came into our yard and stepped into our world, that’s why we like you!” And then he made this powerful statement, “Those people need to learn to get out from behind the fence.”

And so, on this introduction to the GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE FENCE series, now you know what it means, and who it comes from.. an inmate in a Correctional Facility who opened his heart to Jesus because someone chose to love him where he was at and step into his world with the good news of the Gospel! #GetOutFromBehindTheFence