The Holy Spirit moved on nearly 1,000 men and women – who are serving time behind bars – during an evangelist gathering held at one of the largest maximum-security prisons in the nation, a national prison ministry reports.
God Behind Bars, which works to restore the lives of inmates through faith-building outreach programs, recently invited men and women from nine prisons in Louisiana to a revival event held at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana.
According to the organization, 1,000 inmates arrived, 300 incarcerated men and women gave their lives to Jesus, and more than 50 were spontaneously baptized in water.
"These inmates were prayed over, loved, and the Holy Spirit fell on this prison," reads the caption on God Behind Bars' Instagram page.
Grammy Award-winning artist Lauren Daigle led worship at the outreach and shared a powerful word with the inmates.
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"There is nothing that anyone can do to you when you know the truth of who God is. He wants freedom for all of you. He comes to set people free. He's the hope of the world. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is mighty...He sends our sins as far as the East is from the West. And all we have to do is repent. Because he is so gracious," Daigle shared.
The ministry shares that the inmates, many of whom are serving life sentences, "held onto every word" Daigle shared.
"This message shifted the hearts of these men," the ministry wrote.
Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States.
God Behind Bars is on a mission to reach the more than 2.3 million people in the prison system, including those serving sentences at Angola.
"We create satellite campuses in prisons and our whole mission is to introduce inmates to Jesus," Isaac Holt, Director of Innovation for God Behind Bars, told CBN News.
As CBN News has reported, worship leaders like Daigle, Brandon Lake, Naomi Raine, and Kirk Franklin, and speakers like Sadie Robertson and Russell Wilson have prayed and worshipped alongside inmates in these outreaches.
God Behind Bars CEO Jake Bodine started the ministry in 2009 to "reach the least of these" and it has blossomed into a revival-type movement at correctional facilities across the country.
"We have seen almost 1,000,000 salvations," he shared in an online video. "Over 10,000 baptisms! Jesus gets the glory, it's all about Him. Just remember, your seemingly small YES to God, can go farther than you could ever imagine. Give God your YES!"
During the outreach at Angola, inmates were given a hot meal, a pair of socks, and soap in addition to worshipping together and hearing about the redemptive love of Jesus Christ.
As a result, 50 incarcerated men, including a prison security officer, were baptized in a large tub during the service. The ministry reported that for more than 30 minutes "man after man flooded down to the baptism pool."
"Men were in tears as they declared to their entire prison that they are giving EVERYTHING TO JESUS!! Revival is here. Thank you, Jesus," the ministry wrote.
God Behind Bars reports that a new "spiritual renewal" is taking place at Louisiana prisons because of what took place during their gathering.
"Every one of them heard the gospel. Every single man heard that Jesus loves them and died for them and that there is HOPE," the group wrote. "We are still overcome by what God did. You could feel the Holy Spirit inside of this prison! REVIVAL IN ANGOLA!!"
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