Inmates at Florida’s Everglades Correctional Institution were treated to a rare visit from Ciara and Russell Wilson. The A-list couple used their star power to do some good within the prison walls last week.
God Behind Bars, an organization that “[connects] prisoners and their families to Christ by connecting them to the local church,” as their Instagram bio reads, shared the special moment on social media. In the clip, Wilson read scriptures from the Bible and was shown interacting with the inmates who attended. Ciara was visibly shaken while speaking to the crowd and offering words of encouragement before she led the room in song. According to the organization’s social media account, over two dozen attendees in the room used that day to devote their lives to God.
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“[Twenty-seven] incarcerated men gave their lives to Jesus inside of a maximum security prison. [Three hundred] incarcerated men filled the prison chapel to hear a word from [Russell Wilson]. He opened the night in Isaiah, ‘Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.’ – Isaiah 43:19. That is exactly what Jesus did in this prison,” the post began. It continued, “In a place so easily filled with so much division, there was a moment where incarcerated men put their arms around each other and prayed for those struggling with anxiety and depression. After Ciara sang ‘Way Maker,’ men came to the front and wept, giving their lives to Jesus. Many of these men are serving life sentences in prison, but now they will be spending LIFE with Jesus. It is hard to put words into what happened, but it was a night of UNITY, PRAISE and SALVATION! We will never be the same! God is bringing revival to prisons! Jesus is doing a NEW THING.”
The video showed a range of emotions for those in the room. In some portions of the clip, they rejoiced and enjoyed one another’s company. In other clips, their heads were bowed in prayer as some cried and comforted those near them. “You know what’s so beautiful about God’s love? It’s relentless. He don’t let off. He don’t let off. And you know what I love about God and what He said in His promise? There’s no condemnation in Christ Jesus. So, if you ask for forgiveness, He will forgive you. My heart is filled with joy,” Ciara said before the group.
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