I think from a very young age we all desire to have a place to belong. It starts with our families, then friend groups at school and it goes on from there. It doesn’t stop when we become adults. So what about the individuals in custody, where can they find a sense of belonging?
On November 8, 2025, The Village Christian Church launched a campus within the walls of Sheridan Correctional Facility. I felt God inviting me to be part of this ministry, and my instant response was, yes. Send me! That response was a surprise even to myself. There is nothing particularly appealing about entering a prison, yet my heart felt drawn to see it through. It took several months of paperwork and correspondence with the prison, but after months of delays and setbacks, we were able to bring in a team to host our first church service. I had no idea what to expect. I was an equal mix of excited and nervous.
There is a service each Saturday morning, and I have made it a priority to attend as many as I am able. In 5 short months, God has done so much both in the prison and in my own heart. I would like to share these stories of what God is doing behind bars.
Each week that we enter Sheridan, we seem to be met with some sort of obstacle. It has made things quite interesting, to say the least. We have a great team of Village Christian Church volunteers and also a great group of incarcerated men who have formed a leadership group. They do an excellent job of being flexible and creative all while keeping God at the center of our mission. So when we decided to have a day of baptisms and live worship for the first time, we were very excited, yet I could not help but wonder how all of this was going to happen.
I could not wrap my brain around how the day would go despite our plan. The Holy Spirit was present and moving and did what He does. It was such an amazing day that it’s hard to find the words to describe it. We started with live worship music by Luke and Sarah, followed by a brief sermon from Nate so that we could dedicate as much time as possible to baptizing the 33 men that had signed up ahead of time. I have to say it was a smooth operation, and much credit goes to the men of Sheridan. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. It was a sight to see. Not only did we get through the men who were planning to be baptized, we actually had extra time.
What happened next was nothing short of amazing. It started with one young man. I have had the pleasure of sitting in on small group discussions with many of these men, and I have heard their stories. This one young man in particular came up to Pastor Pat (aka Prison Pat) and asked if he could be baptized. The other men instantly had a change of clothes for him, and Patrick asked him why he wanted to be baptized today.
He said, “I just want to be part of something. I have been coming to the church meetings, and I am watching all of these other men get baptized today, and I don’t want to miss out on this.” This brought tears to my eyes in an instant. It occurred to me how deeply rooted that confession was. He wanted to be part of something. I believe that desire is what landed many of these young men in prison in the first place.
I have heard many stories of young men who had no father, no guidance, no protection, no love, and no sense of belonging. Several of them joined a gang to fill the void, and that led to crimes that sent them to prison. I believe the desire to be part of something was placed in the hearts of these men by God, and clearly they still crave the wholeness of belonging.
Our God is merciful, and even in the worst of circumstances, He meets us where we are at. He holds a place at his table for us! After that unplanned baptism, the place erupted in the best way possible. Several more men walked up to be baptized as we all worshiped and celebrated. I am going to end this particular story with a page from Nate’s playbook. God is sovereign, and His will be done with or without me. Yet He chose to invite me to be part of this special day. He reserved a front row seat for me to watch what He can do, and I am so glad I accepted the invitation. I am so thankful I did not miss this!!