John Alarid (left of baptismal) and the men of Ozark Correctional
A few months ago, John Alarid
received a surprising email. It was from the girlfriend of a prisoner
at Ozark Correctional Center (Missouri) asking if Alarid would be
willing to come to the prison to baptize 10 men.
A former Mexican
gang member and prisoner himself, Alarid, now the pastor of CityReach
Church in Springfield, had been leading Sunday services at the prison
for several years and gladly agreed.
But when he showed up at the
facility on May 8th, he discovered that not 10 men wanted to be baptized
but 37! On top of that, many of those who came to be baptized brought
their friends, and 30 of them raised their hands to receive Christ
during an altar call.
“The atmosphere was electrified with the presence of God,” Alarid says.
The
next month, Alarid was asked to come back to Ozark again. Apparently,
the chapel clerk and some of those who had been baptized had been
leading classes on baptism, and many of those who had received Christ at
the baptism wanted to be baptized too. This time, 34 guys showed up to
be baptized and 49 more raised their hands to surrender to Christ.
Members of CityReach Church pray over Ethan Barnett
Alarid
explains that some of those who have become Christians were major
“players” on the streets and have used their influence to draw others to
Christ.
“I think [God] is raising up an army out of prison,” says Ethan Barnett, one of those who was baptized in May.
Barnett,
who came to Christ seven months ago while incarcerated, says he decided
to be baptized because it was a public declaration of faith.
“I
wanted to be an example and show what God was doing,” he explains. “I
wanted to say, ‘This is who I am and this is what I stand for.’ ”
Barnett was released from prison in June and has since been attending CityReach, playing guitar in the worship band.
Source:
Topic: 70 Baptized in Missouri Prison
