An Oklahoma church is celebrating the baptism of 41 inmates along with more than 400 professions of faith at the John H. Lilley Correctional Center in Boley. Victory Christian Center, a multisite church in Tulsa, recently held a gathering of more than 700 inmates and prison staff to show that God’s love “truly knows no walls or limits.”
“Thank you to everyone who served, gave, & prayed,” the church said in an Instagram post. “And thank you, Jesus, for the eternal impact made today.”
The church also served 1,000 hot meals, distributed 700 Bibles, and gave 100 gift bags to prison staff.
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According to the church’s website, Victory Christian Center “is a spirit-filled church that prioritizes loving God and loving people. We believe that when people experience the presence of God and apply the Word of God, they will walk in Victory.”
For Pastor Paul Daugherty and the team of 32 volunteers that joined him, prison outreach is a key component of that vision.
“I was like, man, I really feel like there’s a harvest of people in the prisons that we could reach with God’s love that [only a few] churches in our city [are] really going after,” Daugherty told CBN News. “I really want[ed] to reach almost every prisoner we can in an outreach.”
Daugherty said that the event came about after he was granted “favor” with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt—and after he made a personal connection with Oklahoma’s state chief operating officer, Brian Bobek.
In fact, Bobek had begun attending Victory Christian Center and advised Daugherty that such an event could draw the male inmates out of their cells.
“I said, ‘I don’t wanna just do a small service for 10 or 20 guys…I want to reach almost every prisoner we can,'” Daugherty told CBN News.
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“We showed up last Monday and we weren’t sure if we would get 100 guys or 200,” Daugherty recounted. “When I saw them getting out of their pods and walking towards the field…I just started weeping.”
