It has been a season of harvest at two Statesboro, Georgia, correctional facilities. As a result of outreach efforts by the Pentecostals of Statesboro, approximately sixty inmates from a local county jail and a nearby women’s detention center received the Holy Spirit during a ten-day stretch earlier this summer, and 107 were baptized in Jesus’ name in just two days in early August.
Since the beginning of the year, Pastor Randy Watts and the ministry team from the Pentecostals of Statesboro have baptized approximately 250 inmates in Jesus’ name, and approximately 350 inmates have received the Holy Spirit. More baptisms are scheduled in the coming days.
Earlier this summer, about fifty inmates attended a Saturday evening service at the women’s detention center. Before the night was over, between thirty and forty women had received the Holy Spirit.
“They were still weeping and speaking in tongues while being escorted back to their cells,” Pastor Watts said. “We are thankful and believing that this is just the beginning of a great end-time revival and harvest in our local facilities.”
God also has performed many miracles in these two settings, including healing an inmate who previously tested positive for HIV. One female inmate was miraculously healed of a broken arm, and God delivered another from demonic possession.
The success of the church’s prison ministry is the result of an ongoing prayer revival, Pastor Watts explained. During the past five years, someone from the Pentecostals of Statesboro has come to the church each day to pray. The emphasis on prayer, coupled with fasting, has intensified this summer, with a growing number of church members gathering each evening to seek God. Infused with faith, church members have been ministering at hospitals, nursing homes, a local university, and at the county jail and the women’s detention center.
“We are taking the gospel to the streets,” Pastor Watts said. “By God’s grace and consistent intercession, we are seeing answers to our prayers.”
Those answered prayers include several notable healings. One local woman whose leg had been shortened as the result of an accident saw the limb miraculously extended to its proper length, while another was healed of a severe shoulder injury. Community members also are being converted, including a law enforcement officer church leaders met through the jail ministry.
The Pentecostals of Statesboro are “poised, passionate, and positioned” for even greater revival, Pastor Watts said.
The Pentecostals of Statesboro have been involved in prison ministry for the past sixteen years. Their team is certified through Christian Prisoner Ministry, an outreach of North American Missions. Christian Prisoner Ministry offers training and certification for churches ministering behind bars. Visit prisonministry.faith to learn more.
This article was adapted from a report that appeared in the August 2023 edition of the Pentecostal Life magazine.
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