The Question Everyone Asks

Very often when people find out about someone being involved with prison ministry, the first question usually asked is: “What kind of people do you come across? What are their crimes?” Curiosity is understandable, and it’s a question that deserves an honest, thoughtful answer.

The Simple Truth: They Are Ordinary People

The easy answer is simple…ordinary people. If you were to walk into any Canadian shopping mall with adult shoppers going about their buying, going in and out of the stores, their age, gender, occupation, economic status, race and hobbies would be diverse. This would be the same for the type of people behind prison walls.

Having visited with endless prisoners over the years, this is a small sample of people I’ve encountered: elementary school principal, father, grandfather, drug dealer, human trafficker, Olympic athlete, business owner, hockey coach, doctor, police officer, high school dropout, university or Bible school student…and the list could go on and on.

These are not faceless criminals—they had families, dreams, careers, and responsibilities. They made choices that led them down a path none of them imagined when they were young.

The Reality of Their Crimes

What about their crimes? Theft, drug-related offences, torture, murder, domestic assault, child abuse, fraud, rape…you get the idea…everything and anything. The spectrum is as wide as human behavioru itself. And yes, occasionally, some have been falsely accused and are actually innocent.

These crimes represent moments of profound moral failure, addiction’s grip, mental health crises, or circumstances that spiralled beyond control. While we cannot minimize the pain caused to victims and communities, we must also recognize that behind each offence is a human being created in God’s image.

What I’ve Discover in Private Conversations

To offer you a glimpse into private conversations, the most common emotion expressed after the crime is deep, overwhelming regret. In quiet moments, away from the toughness that prison life sometimes demands, these men wrestle with guilt, shame, and the weight of their actions. They think about the victims they’ve hurt, the families they’ve destroyed—including their own—and the lives they’ve shattered.

Many express a desperate desire to make amends, to somehow undo what cannot be undone. This regret, while it cannot erase the past, often becomes the fertile ground where genuine repentance and transformation can take root.

God’s Heart for the Imprisoned

Scripture reminds us that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Prison walls are filled with broken hearts and crushed spirits—people who have reached the end of themselves and are finally ready to cry out to God.

Jesus himself declared his mission in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Christ’s heart beats for those society has cast aside, including those behind bars.

The Gospel of Second Chances

All people have value, deserve mercy, and are loved equally by God…even the most outcast. This is perhaps the most radical truth of the Gospel—that God’s love extends to the worst of sinners, that His grace can reach into the darkest corners of human failure, and that no one is beyond redemption.

I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations: hardened criminals becoming gentle servants, violent offenders learning to resolve conflicts peacefully, and broken individuals discovering their worth in Christ. These changes don’t happen overnight, and they don’t erase the consequences of past actions, but they demonstrate the power of God to create new life even in the most unlikely places.

The Invitation

I invite you to see prisoners not as statistics or headlines, but as individuals created in God’s image who have made devastating choices but who still possess infinite worth in His eyes. They are ordinary people in extraordinary need of grace—the same grace that has been extended to each of us.