Through the gate

'Letter writing was a huge thing as well. A lot of the letters that I got from people turned into Bible studies. It involved reading what other people had written to me, thinking about it and replying...

The best way to encourage and build up people inside is through letters, than you can on the phone. You can befriend people.

As they (inmates) were coming up to their release they would ask me where they might go. The only person I knew to refer them to was Caring for Ex-Offenders. The really sad thing was that the majority of those people literally went back onto the streets because there was nowhere for them to go.

The most critical or vital part in an inmate’s walk with God is that moment of release....If there’s no one there to take them in and give them a chance, or a blessing, they have no hope. When I came out someone from HTB met me, which was quite profound. He brought family. Lots of these guys have no family...... Relationship is what it is all about. It’s not just me getting to know the church; it’s the church getting to know me.'