By Michael Pivirotto, Good News Global Volunteer
Sullivan County Detention Center – Blountville, TN
My wife, Judy, and I have been leading Bible studies at the Sullivan County Detention Center in Blountville, TN, for the past two years. During this time, we have witnessed our Lord work in ways that only He can, calling men and women to Himself, transforming them, and setting them free from the chains of addiction and self-destructive lifestyles.
We understand that the incarcerated do not exist in a vacuum; they are someone’s son, daughter, mother, or father. We recognize that the choices they make greatly impact others. At times, we have the opportunity to minister to those who have loved ones in prison.
On a Wednesday nearly two years ago, I was driving to the prison to conduct a regularly scheduled chapel service. At a traffic light, I stopped behind a white SUV adorned with numerous bumper stickers on its rear liftgate. What we display on our vehicles speaks volumes about us, our families, our politics, and our beliefs, and I am always curious to read them. The largest and most prominent sticker took me aback. It was a memorial for someone whose life and death were only 20 years apart. I remember an audible groan, thinking, “Oh, that is not good.” As I followed the car, it took every turn I needed to take, and finally, it pulled into the parking lot. I parked nearby but overlooked the person getting out as I was busy gathering my notes, Bible, reading glasses, and thoughts before entering. That day, I recall stopping to pray, “Lord, use me today as you see fit. Let me have eyes to see what you want me to see; let me speak of you and be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in me.” (1 Peter 3:15)
The entry room at the prison is small, with only a few chairs. Sitting in one was a woman weeping. Like many men, my first inclination was to hide or ignore it, but the Lord would have none of that. I approached her and said, “I’m so sorry; may I pray for you?”
She asked me why I was there, and I explained the reason I came every Wednesday. She told me her son was incarcerated. That she had two sons. One committed suicide six months earlier, and the second was in prison. As a parent, I cannot imagine that pain, that unrelenting hurt that would never go away. So, I sat and prayed with her. I prayed that our Lord would comfort her, meet her in the darkness and pain, and make His loving presence known to her.
Typically, when I visit the prison, it takes 10 to 15 minutes for a guard to come and escort me in. That day, it took 45 minutes due to an unexpected occurrence, but I know it was because our Lord had a different plan for me: to encounter and minister to someone else.
We prayed for her son’s salvation. We prayed for his life to be entrusted to the only one who could free him from the destructive chains of addiction – Jesus Christ! We prayed for him to turn away from the path that had created the mess in his life, a mess that hurt those who loved him the most.
I asked for her name and her son’s, wrote them down, and placed them in my Bible. I told her that I would continue to pray for them and that I would speak to him if our paths crossed. As weeks and months passed, I would occasionally come across those names and stop to pray for them both.
For the next eighteen months, Judy and I continued the work our Lord had placed on our hearts, teaching Bible studies where the Good News of Jesus Christ was proclaimed. We visited the prison each week; Judy ministered to the women while I worked with the men. However, I had not yet encountered the young man for whom I had been praying.
Then, our Lord orchestrated the opening of two new doors. First, our chaplain, Kent Pugh, received permission for the first time to offer an “Experiencing God” class to prisoners in the maximum-security section of the prison. Chaplain Kent sent me the roster, and the name of the young man I had been praying for was on it. I called Kent and shared the story of my encounter with the inmate’s mother, and that I had been praying for him for the past 18 months. I asked him why he had sent me the roster, as it wasn’t his usual practice; he typically only sent me the rosters for the classes I would be facilitating. He replied that he didn’t know why but felt prompted to send it.
I now know the reason because of the second door our Lord was to open.
Our chaplain, being one of the longest-serving chaplains at Good News Global in the country, was scheduled to take a first-ever sabbatical. Although he was not inclined, I encouraged him to take the opportunity, and I would fill in for him as needed.
The chaplain’s class for maximum-security prisoners met on Sunday nights at 6:00 pm for 12 weeks, and I had the privilege of teaching weeks three to six during the chaplain’s sabbatical. At my first class, the guards escorted 16 men into the chapel, and I began to record their attendance on the sheet. When I got to the name of that young man, providentially, he was sitting directly in front of me in the first row.
I stopped and asked if he had ever met me. “No,“ he replied. I pulled that scrap of paper out of my Bible and asked, “Is this your name?” With a confused look, he replied, “Yes.” ” Is this your mom’s name? “I asked. “Yes,” he responded. I then asked him, “Why is your name and your mom’s name in my Bible?” He replied that he had no idea. I told him that I had prayed with his mother in the waiting room over 18 months ago for his salvation and for him to place his life into the hands of Jesus Christ.
His eyes welled up, and tears began to stream down his face.
I went on to talk about how God works in our lives, explaining that it was no accident we were both there that evening and that it was not by chance I happened upon his mother. I told him that our Lord had heard the tearful prayers of a mother for her son and that today was his opportunity to respond to our Lord’s calling.
I spoke with those 16 men for over an hour. It was one of those moments when you could hear a pin drop; no one interrupted, coughed, or shifted in their seats. The Holy Spirit was at work. There were quite a few wiping tears from their eyes, and mine too.
I shared the Gospel, telling them who Jesus is, why He came, and what He had done — for them, for all of us. I told them what it meant when Jesus said, “Follow me.”
That night, I had the privilege of witnessing a new birth and a new life.
I had the opportunity to teach three additional classes to that young man and watched the Lord work. I had the blessing of giving him a Hope Pack this past Christmas, and I will tell you that the smile on his face and his countenance were very different from the first time we met.
What this encounter taught me is to keep my eyes open! To expectantly treat every day as an opportunity to respond to His calling. I never look past the person our Lord places in my path, and I will always be ready with the answer to the hope that is in me.
To all the Good News Global chaplains, staff, and volunteers, thank you for all you do! Our Lord is using this ministry in a mighty way.
Blessings!