Mid-Delta Baptist ministry leaders recently visited the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Their purpose was to help church plants inside the prison become part of the Mid-Delta Association, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
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One inmate who serves as pastor of Near Life Experience Church at the penitentiary shared his story.
“I am a former gang member,” Darosky said. “I got entangled in a lot of stuff, and I ended up in solitary here for two years.
“Looking back, I was raised in church. It was while I was in that cell that I realized I needed to change. So I called out to God, and He answered so clearly that it scared me. There was a Bible in the cell, and I asked Him to show me a verse that would help me. I opened that Bible directly to 2 Corinthians 5:17.”
The passage reads: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Changed life
The pastor said that verse changed his life. He earned his GED while in solitary confinement, then went on to receive a college degree through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While researching for a paper on righteousness, he ran across an article that also referenced 2 Corinthians 5:17.
He became a Christian during that time. “I was always a leader in the organizations I was involved in,” he said, referring to his gang activity. “I was able to use those gifts for good.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Tony Martin and originally published by the Baptist Record.
