Women's Shakopee Prison

This past Tuesday, I had the awesome privilege and opportunity of getting to return to the Women's Shakopee Prison to lead worship for 100+ female inmates, partnering with the Innerchange Freedom Initiative (IFI) ministry inside the prison. This was a special night, as I also got to bring 7 others along with me, 6 of who were coming for the first time!

We had such a fun time singing and praising God and memorizing Scripture together.  My friend Chantel, pictured below, shared her faith testimony and also helped to lead worship. It warmed my heart to see the women  tuned in to every word Chantel spoke, choosing to engage as they paged through their Bibles to follow along with the Scripture she shared. I also asked a friend and pastor, Gary, to come and share a message. Gary spoke about coming to God's throne of grace. He talked about how God doesn't expect us to fix everything before we come to him, but rather invites us to come His room full of grace to allow Him to transform us there. The women really connected to Gary's personable way of relating with them.

To hear about this experience from the perspective of our volunteers who came along, you can check out the "Volunteer Testimonies" link on the left to hear from Chantel, Katie, Alex, Jessica, and Sonia.

Jackie and Chantel