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The Spirit of God moved powerfully through salvations, baptisms, and life-changing moments during an outreach at an Oklahoma prison last week. More than 700 inmates worshipped Jesus and were “touched by the presence of God,” one of the organizers told CBN News.
Pastor Paul Daugherty has been leading Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for more than 10 years, succeeding his parents, Sharon and the late Billy Joe Daugherty, who founded the church.
It is one of the city’s largest churches, and while more than 7,000 worshippers participate in services each week, the Holy Spirit spoke to Daugherty just three short months ago, asking him to reach an unlikely group with the Gospel message.
“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 no church in our city is really going after,” he told CBN News. “I really want[ed] to reach almost every prisoner we can in an outreach.”
Daugherty says God gave him favor with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and his staff, including a timely connection with Brian Bobek, the state’s chief operating officer.
“He happened to be a Christian and said he was looking for a church to go to and started coming to our church,” the megachurch pastor shared.
Bobek advised Daugherty to make the prison outreach an event that would draw men 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 Bobek.
The pastor and his team decided on creating an outreach that would allow the prisoners to get outside, enjoy hamburgers and hot dogs, receive free pamphlets, and a Bible.
They held the first outreach at John H. Lilley Prison in Boley, Oklahoma on June 23rd.
“We showed up last Monday and we weren’t sure if we would get 100 guys or 200,” Daugherty admitted to CBN News.
To his surprise, the dry brown field began to flood with men in orange prison uniforms. In total, 751 inmates showed up that day to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached.
As Daugherty watched the inmates file out of the prison, the Lord spoke to his heart.
“When I saw them getting out of their pods and walking towards the field…I just started weeping because I was like man this looks like a picture out of the Bible when Jesus saw that village of Samaritan people. He said the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
With the help of just 32 volunteers, 1,000 hot meals were served, 700 Bibles were distributed, and 1,300 Bible study books were handed out.
Daugherty says many lives were changed. More than 400 people accepted the call for salvation and 41 inmates were baptized on the spot.
The pastor said he saw hardened criminals changed by the love of God.
“I saw all these [inmates] walking towards us like zombies…literally coming out of [the prison with] depression and despair and discouragement and shame,” he explained.
“A third of these guys are locked up in there for sexual crimes and then another third are locked up in there for violence and murder, and then another third are locked up in there for drug-related offenses…We had guys in there that we met that were 25 years old and then one guy that was you know 70 years old and you’ve been in there for 27 years,” Daugherty recalled.
“But I felt like God said, just walk between them, show them the love of God, shake their hands, give them a hug, preach into the crowd,” he said.
Daugherty admits he had to let go of the fear of being in the “middle of 751 prisoners with no handcuffs,” but he knew God called him to “preach the love of Jesus.”
“I just started hugging them and shaking their hands and praying for him and then I did an altar call and I was like, ‘Hey if any of you want Jesus to be Lord of your life and to walk in His victory for your life and receive His grace and mercy, then you raise your hand.’ And over 400 hands went up.”
Daugherty says those who are locked up behind bars “need to know that God still loves them, and God’s not done with their story.”
The Oklahoma pastor recounted an incredible encounter he had with one inmate who got saved at Victory Christian Center when his father was a pastor.
“He said, ‘I got saved at your church when your dad was the pastor in the ’90s’ and he said, ‘I was part of the choir and I sang in the worship (team).’ And then he said, ‘I made some really bad choices and…I got locked up in the year 2000.'”
Daugherty said his mind immediately began to race trying to figure out, “What did he do? What is going on here?”
But then the Lord spoke to him and said, “Paul I’m less concerned about this man’s past and I’m more concerned about his future.”
“I just looked at him and I said, ‘Sir, I don’t know what you did, but I just want you to know God loves you and we love you.”
The inmate told Daugherty he thought he would never see the church he once called his home church, ever again.
He explained that the first person to visit him in prison, was Paul’s father, Billy Joe, before he died from cancer. “He told me that he loved me and forgave me and that God forgave me,” the inmate told Daugherty, adding he thought he would never see anybody from that church again.
“He said, ‘Here you are…the son of my pastor that saved me, 1751390823 ministering in my prison,'” Daugherty recalled of the conversation.
“I’m getting teary-eyed like, ‘man, God, what a story grace.'”
Daugherty adds that there are many stories of grace that are waiting to be told and there are more people hungry to hear the truth of the Gospel.
“I think people are really waking up to the reality that our world and everything in our world is so, it’s so broken,” he explained. “It’s so broken…and there’s just so much shallowness.”
Daugherty says people are being consumed by social media and the idea of false connection, while at the same time being drawn to pornography, drugs, and alcohol to quell feelings of anxiety.
He believes many people are finally waking up and wanting “something that’s real.”
“Jesus is that answer,” he said. “I do think there is this awakening of [people saying] ‘Man, I want Jesus. Jesus is the only thing that is going to change my life and heal my heart and bring me peace.'”
Victory Christian Center’s initial, huge prison outreach is just the beginning of reaching the lost who are locked up.
“We’ve already lined up the prisons for the fall and the winter,” he told CBN News. “Prisons started calling that they want [us] to come.”
Daugherty says he is looking forward to this new endeavor.
“Praise God. Let’s keep doing this,” he expressed.
