SOC Prison Ministry: The 1999 Peruvian Prison Ministry

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

As I stood in the reception area of Lurigancho Prison, waiting for the guards to frisk me before they allowed me inside, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, there stood Walter, grinning from ear to ear. "I've come to preach", came his reply. He had been released from this prison only one month before. One year ago in the School of Christ, he was wonderfully set free from the powers of darkness. He said he could not help himself and that he had to come back and preach to those he had left behind.

One week later I met him again. This time he was waiting to go inside the terrorist prison, Castro Castro. My heart leaps for joy even now as I write this report. This is the power of the true Gospel. There are many Walters behind the walls of the Peruvian prisons, men who have been set free by the grace of God!

While in Lurigancho I visited with several of our pastors who have set up churches on wing seven. One of our churches in this wing is now 120 strong. It has three meetings a day seven days a week. Only true revival brings this kind of response.

There is such a hunger in their hearts, a hunger like I have not encountered in the 23 years I have been set free. Praise the Lord! Everyday the gospel is preached in an outdoor service in a different wing. Everyday more and more young men are coming to Christ. Last week more than sixty new converts started in the School of Christ. Jesus said that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

In Castro Castro, Brother Darwin and Brother Santos gave me a wonderful warm welcome. Neither of these two men will ever see the outdoor world again. It is incredible what God has done through these two saints. When I first arrived in Castro Castro, two and a half years ago, I was cautioned about one particular wing and warned not to go inside of it. The men in there were known as the destroyers, but God opened the door to that wing and we have had many converts go through the School of Christ.

The security of this prison is of the highest caliber but these two men (after a lot of persuasion) have received permission to preach in the rest of the prison. They have built six churches, and last week they enrolled sixty new converts into the School of Christ. What God is doing there is completely beyond natural comprehension. The river of life is flowing through the dry places.

Calleo Calleo Prison
Hearing the Word

In Calleo Calleo, (pronounced ky-ouw) we have established two schools. One is in minimum security. In the maximum wing, Brother Samson is the pastor of the school. He has been incarcerated for twenty years. He has escaped four times and killed many men. He decided he wanted to learn English so he joined the School of Christ, writing down every word from Spanish to English, from this he was born again. His testimony has astounded those in charge. While I was there last week many of the guards asked me if I could bring them a Bible. We started a class of thirty converts this past week that will be under the leadership of Brother Samson.

In the minimum wing the leader of our class is one of our first converts. He has been through this School of Christ four times since he was saved two years ago. We have just begun a School of twenty-five students there also. The one thing each of our leaders has asked for, is a study Bible. Wonderful!

We have had a School established for two years in Chincha. The director of that prison is a born again believer, and thanks God for the results that the School of Christ is bringing there. He encourages the lost to attend the school, and last week, 57 new converts enrolled. If I were to write every detail of what God has done and is doing in the School of Christ, the book would never end.