Below is an excerpt from a recent blog post by Philip Yancey--a thoughtful examination of prison ministries.The link to the full post is at the end of the excerpt.The great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky credited his conversion to a woman who thrust a New Testament in his hands as he traveled
Although the work of Prison Fellowship International may take place out of the limelight, its impact is incalculable. In many countries today's prisoners comprise tomorrow's leaders; for example, after South Africa's change from white rule a majority of the new cabinet had a prison record, as did their leader Nelson Mandela. Nearly every liberation movement starts with prisoners (think Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma). And, looking through history, imagine the Christian faith without prisoners: John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, Paul, John Bunyan, martyrs in the Roman Empire, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Anna Skripnikova, Nelson Mandela, Benigno Aquino, Armando Valladares of Cuba. In Toronto I saw that a movement begun in chains and behind bars has not forgotten its heritage.
