Pastor Judy Adams of New Brunswick, Canada, was just a teenager when she first felt the call toward prison ministry. She has since spent decades as a volunteer, teacher and chaplain for various federal prisons. Though now retired, she still works up to 20 hours a week as a chaplain at three men's prisons because she feels this is what God has called her to.
While working in these institutions comes with challenges, such as security restrictions that limit the number of inmates she can see at once, Pastor Judy finds that oftentimes inmates are more open to God than people outside prison.
“Prison is a really good place for people to become open to God, because there’s no pretense that everything’s alright,” Pastor Judy shares. She has found that, though not every inmate is interested in God, all respond well to the respect and value she shows them. As a result, though occasional lockdowns have prevented her from visiting inmates, she never feels unsafe.
“People on the outside think I’m always looking over my shoulder expecting to be attacked, but that isn’t the case,” Pastor Judy notes. “People have misconceptions about prison. These people are just as valuable and loved by God as anyone else, and he has plans for them. We’re all criminals in God’s eyes, apart from him. The only difference is that we’re on different sides of the wall.”
Many inmates have told Pastor Judy that they are glad they came to prison because it led them to God. One such inmate she has worked with is *Mary, an inmate in Truro. After years of abuse Mary’s parents abandoned her at only 10 years old, leaving her homeless. Her life continued on a downward trajectory that resulted in repeated offenses and prison time, before she eventually became a Christian at the age of 55. Today, Mary is the director of a Christian women’s rehabilitation center, helping women come to the Lord and break free from addictions.
Another individual Pastor Judy worked with, *Don, had a similarly miraculous story of transformation. Also the victim of a painful upbringing, Don eventually went to prison for taking a life. He spent the next six years drowning in rage, resisting God’s attempts to get his attention. One night, when he felt at his lowest, Don finally accepted Christ. Pastor Judy says that the rage drained away and 12 years later it has not returned. Today, she says that Don is one of the most peaceful people she’s ever met — inside or outside of prison.
Recently, three inmates told Pastor Judy they wanted to be baptized. While baptisms in prison are difficult to perform, she was committed to making sure these three individuals could take part in this sacred Christian sacrament in response to the new things God was bringing to life.
Learn more about chaplaincy through The Wesleyan Church.
“Some people are hesitant to hold baptisms in prison, but for some of them they aren’t going to be out for decades, and we are their church community,” she shares. “If someone’s faith is strong enough that they’ve decided to stand before the other inmates to be baptized, I’m not going to hold them back.”
Pastor Judy met with each prisoner to ensure they were ready for baptism and asked them to prepare testimonies. By the time the baptism ceremony had been arranged, a fourth individual had joined them, and on the day of the baptisms three additional inmates came forward, delivered testimonies and were also baptized.
For Pastor Judy, seeing these seven individuals come forward to be baptized was a powerful example of God’s work springing upin the hearts of inmates throughout Canada and beyond. Life for Christian inmates is often filled with difficult questions. Many are left wondering when or if they will be released, whether they will be socially accepted, if their record will prevent them from finding a job and whether they will find a church that will embrace them. Indeed, Pastor Judy can attest that some of the inmates she deals with were wrongly imprisoned but will still face stigma. Despite these things, Pastor Judy sees many of the inmates she interacts with expressing profound peace and trust in the Lord.
“To be in these prisons, where there’s often violence around them, where some people think it’s their duty to make things harder for them, and to still say ‘I’m at peace’ is remarkable,” Pastor Judy says. “I really see God moving. I think that sometimes revival starts in these forgotten and overlooked places and spreads out. Seeing lives transformed here and knowing where these people come from, it’s miraculous and it strengthens my own faith.”
*Name changed.