Freedom Found Behind the Walls

Chris was a successful business owner who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. He became seduced by a money, drugs, and partying. That fast-lane way of life hit a dead end when Chris landed himself in prison. Deciding he had nothing left to live for, he was prepared to take his life. But that was when God stepped in and brought him into a journey of restoration and freedom that he never expected.

Prior to his incarceration, Chris and his wife were enjoying their wealth. His trucking company had gone from a small, local operation to a national business in just a few short years. They moved from living in a modest home to a 6,000 square foot mansion. His was an exorbitant lifestyle fueled by money, drugs, partying, and anything else that made him feel alive. Chris had everything the world had to offer, yet he still felt unfulfilled, empty, and alone. Then one day, it all came crashing down when Chris’ past caught up with him and he was arrested and incarcerated for a sex crime.

Laying on his prison bunk with a razor and a plan, Chris was ready to commit suicide when his thoughts were interrupted by a fellow inmate asking if he would like to join in their Bible study. Annoyed and aggravated, Chris replied, “I don’t need God or a Bible. I just need to get out of here.” But as a captive audience in that prison cell, he had no other choice than to listen as the man read from the Scripture. Very unexpectedly, Chris was overcome with comfort by what he heard. In that moment he made the decision to put down the razor and give God a chance.

Chris was released on bail while he waited for his trial. It took two years for his case to wind its way through the court system, and for Chris, those were the best and the worst two years of his life. He’d lost his marriage, business, and everything he had worked for. Knowing the power of God’s healing, Chris’ dad told him about Saddleback Church and Celebrate Recovery®. The next Sunday, Chris attended Saddleback for the first time. “When the service started, all I could do was cry, because I knew I was home. I was exactly where God wanted me to be,” he recalls. He began volunteering at the church and started attending Celebrate Recovery. There, he found people who understood and accepted him without judgement. Their stories were his stories, and his stories were theirs. “I saw how God was taking me apart and putting me back together,” says Chris.

Chris knew God was at work in his life. Despite the fact that his life was a shambles and he was facing a potential prison sentence, he said everything was in perfect order because Christ was in control. When the day he had been dreading for two years finally arrived and he was sentenced to state prison, Chris told God, “I will serve you wherever I am. In prison or out of prison, I can’t live without you.”

Following the trial, Chris found himself on a bus chained from head to toe and terrified for what was yet to come. He was not a “tough” person—he was just a regular guy from Orange County. In the midst of immense fear, Chris found strength and comfort by turning the situation over to God.

Now living at a prison 400 miles away from home, Chris came to understand how God used the two previous years to prepare him for the intensity of prison life. The first few years of his sentence were the most difficult, and ones Chris says he wouldn’t have survived if he had not learned how lean on God for strength. First and foremost, Chris knew that no matter what difficulty or circumstance he faced, God was with him. “My go-to prayer was ‘Let them see you, not me. You are love, and I am nothing.’ God shined through me and got me through a lot of rough situations.”

One Christmas, the prison administration allowed a DVD of Saddleback’s Christmas sermon to be played in the chapel. The room was filled beyond capacity and four men gave their lives to Christ that day.“It was an amazing event that no one thought could ever happen, because they never allowed things like that to take place,” Chris explained. After that, things began to turn around and the prison allowed Chris to start small group studies and Celebrate Recovery.

In time, Chris came to understand that God had created him to work in prison ministry. He prayed for opportunities to share Christ with others. Those prayers were answered when God opened the door for Chris to transfer to Chino State Prison and apply for the position of chaplain.

At Chino State Prison, Chris has been instrumental in sharing the love, hope, and healing of Christ with other inmates. The chapel now has a DVD player and shows Saddleback services every week. When the50 Days of Transformation series started earlier this year, Chris wrote a letter to Saddleback and requested small group materials. The series became so popular that not only did they run out of small group books, but they also ran out of seating in the chapel and had to issue tickets for people to watch Pastor Rick’s weekend sermons. Chris says that you can see God’s restoration power in action throughout the prison. He is clearly at work changing the hearts and minds of the men. Based on his experience, Chris says the only way to truly rehabilitate and ensure the men don’t recidivate is through life in Jesus.

Chris longs for the day when he can come back and worship at his church home. Now in his third year of Bible college, he plans to continue to minister to others as a missionary when he is released from prison.

Looking back, Chris realizes that losing his physical freedom was a blessing that gained him his spiritual freedom and the peace and fulfillment he had been searching for. “God allowed me to come to prison to show others that although we are behind walls, we have great freedom through life in Christ.”