This month I would like to share with you an exciting and developing story. It involves our prison ministry.
Recently, I met with Brandon Light (center) and two of his friends who came to our Renewal office to pick up gift copies of my Life Essentials Study Bible and my Men of Character Bible to be used in prison ministry.
I spent time with these men demonstrating how to use these Bibles to mentor a variety of men from various backgrounds—both in prison and out of prison. Isaiah (center) had just been rescued off the streets. Brandon had mentored Jose (right) when they were both in prison.
Left to Right: Gene with Brandon, Isaiah, and Jose
To demonstrate God’s remarkable saving and sustaining grace, here’s more about Brandon’s personal story.
Gene: Brandon, let’s begin with your early years.
Brandon: I came from a very dysfunctional family. I never met my dad and was raised by my mom. I had three brothers and a sister—and I was the youngest.
As I was growing up, they were all into drugs and in and out of prison. But a man volunteered to be my dad. He stepped into my life and became my hero. But I lost him when I was 12 and was devastated. Consequently, I rebelled against all authority—which was really a way to deal with my pain.
Gene: You mentioned rebellion. Can you be more specific?
Brandon: I assaulted a public servant at age 13 and landed in a place for juvenile offenders. I eventually got out on probation but continued my bad behavior and was sentenced to 26 months in a youth prison.
But, when I was released, I continued to use and sell drugs and ended up in an adult prison at age 18. I joined a gang and continued my criminal activities and ended up in solitary confinement for the next eight years.
Gene: You talk about your wife and children. Being in prison, how did this happen?
Brandon: Before I went to prison, I met a girl and fathered children, and while in prison, I called her my fiancé. She pleaded with me to leave the gang and hopefully one day to be released from prison and come home and be a husband and a father. But in my hardness of heart, I chose the gang over my family—and everything went downhill from there.
Gene: I still can’t imagine being in solitary for eight years.
Brandon: It was indeed a horrible experience. I was so depressed I was going to hang a sheet from my locker and commit suicide. But . . . at that moment God spoke to my spirit. I had heard the Gospel, so I got down on the concrete floor, repented of my sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I immediately sensed God’s presence through His Holy Spirit in my life.
Gene: That had to be a major turning point in your life!
Brandon: It was a real turning point! I eventually got out of solitary confinement and joined the general prison population. I left the gang and met other Christian men who mentored me. Eventually I began sharing the Gospel and leading my fellow prisoners to Christ—and even had the opportunity to baptize some of them.
Gene: How did all of this relate to your family?
Brandon: I actually got married while I was in prison. I then led my wife to Christ as we talked on the phone and my relationship with her, my children, and my mom was restored.
Gene: How many years were you actually in prison?
Brandon: I’m now 37 years old and I spent 20 of those years in prison.
Gene: Being free actually led to some exciting developments in your life—which is one reason you and your friends came to our Renewal office to pick up Bibles.
Brandon: When I got out of prison, I got involved with other former prisoners—now believers—and together we began sharing the Gospel all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. A lot of people came to Christ.
It’s hard to believe that I’m now leading the No Place Left Academy. We help men who come from the same background as me and we also work with teams in prison.
Our strategy is based on Jesus’ ministry model. We encourage believers to leave their gangs and to become part of a small group where we can help them mature in their faith.
Gene: Let’s talk about how you’re going to use my two Study Bibles.
Brandon: We have two plans for your Life Essentials Study Bible. First, we’re going to train men who are still in prison to become pastors to other men. Second, when men leave prison and attend our training center, we’ll teach them to also become pastors to other men—especially former inmates. Regarding your Men of Character Bible, we are going to encourage these men in our training center to use this Bible in their personal devotional time—to help them to actually become men of character.
No Place Left Academy
At the beginning of this letter I stated that I was going to share a story that definitely demonstrates God’s marvelous and sustaining grace.
Since we want all those who receive a gift Bible to be trained in how to use it, here I am training these men so they can train others.
There is, of course, much more to the story. But what I have shared illustrates a very important and exciting part of our ministry here at Renewal–namely, our prison ministry.
So, please continue to pray for Brandon as he leads the No Place Left Academy. Pray also for his wife and children.
Satan is certainly not happy with what has recently happened in his life. He definitely needs God’s protection.
More generally, please continue to pray for our Renewal Ministry–that we’ll be able to continue making my Study Bibles available as gifts to men who are still in prison and to those who have been released and are being trained in the Word of God.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, he thanked God for their partnership and financial support in his ministry ( Phil 1:3–5). This is our prayer for all of our faithful donors.
