One of my absolute privileges is getting to work with Glenn, who has been with YFC for over 30 years. This month, he shared his joy over going in the detention center with us in our newsletter.
If you don’t receive our newsletter but would like to, please call our main office – 305.271.2442 – to get your named added. You’ll get a monthly update from us, as well as a beautiful magazine of stories once a quarter.
-Johanna Ralsten-Cox, Miami Youth for Christ Ministries Director
On July 1, I started my 37th year with Miami Youth For Christ. I am so thankful for all the opportunities that I’ve had to share the gospel with rejected teens in the detention center. These young men and women are incarcerated for serious crimes such as murder, carjacking, home invasion, and robberies. But that’s not what I remember most about them – instead, I remember their stories. Their stories often break your heart. Many don’t have fathers in their lives and live in very dangerous areas. They often struggle with drug addiction and depression. They believe there is a God but usually don’t have a day-to-day relationship with Him. Even so, they are hungry for Bibles and Gospel tracts, and each week 15-20 youth ask for one-on-one prayer time with our volunteers.
A few weeks ago, my co-worker Ronnie and I were in Mod 7 at the Detention Center. I told the young men that I had trusted Christ as my Savior at the age of 10 when my mother shared John 3:16 with me in a personal way.
She would quote the verse saying, “For god so loved GLENN that he gave his one and only son, so that if GLENN believes in him, GLENN will not perish but have eternal life.” On the eve of March 16, I trusted Christ as my Savior, and I shared with the boys that I wanted salvation more than anything else.
At that point I said to the teens, “I don’t know if any of you want it but I definitely did.”
At that moment, Juan* yelled out, “I WANT IT!”
Oh, the joy that filled my heart when I heard those words. Juan wanted the freedom and life of the Gospel so much that he wasn’t embarrassed to cry out in the middle of a session, in front of 20 other young men. He knew, in that moment, that he wanted and needed God’s salvation. After the session Juan and I talked. With tears in his eyes, he prayed to trust Christ as his Savior. I gave him a Bible and told him to start reading the book of John. As I was leaving the area, I saw him reading his Bible. I left rejoicing and knew the angels in heaven were also rejoicing – the one sinner who knew repented, who knew exactly what he wanted and needed that night.
GLENN CRAIG
JUVENILE JUSTICE MINISTRY DIRECTOR
*name has been changed
