Rhema International Ministries baptized inmates in the Sumter County Jail on October 26. Congregants hugged and greeted inmates as they came forward. Several inmates, both men and women, were baptized, while congregants sang hymns and praised God.

Rhema International Ministries is located in Albany Georgia. Co-pastor Cynthia Sanders gave an interview after the baptisms. “We are a ministry that loves God’s people. We want to see everybody saved. We believe that when you give your life to Christ, that He transforms your life by His Word, through the love of God and through his people.”

Sanders also talked about the challenges with prison ministry. “Scheduling and. . . getting the clearance for the people from the outside to be able to come in, and also to really get people within the ministry who have a heart for others and have that heart to come and spread the gospel.”

She told how Deacon Booker T. Jones had been coming to the prison for around a year. “It’s just strategic how God will bring people to the ministry who have that gifting and that call, and God plants them here, and that’s Deacon Booker Jones.”

Sanders also shared her reactions to the baptism. “It was awesome.” She told of how it was phenomenal to be able to witness the joy and the hope on the inmates’ faces.

Assistant Pastor Derrick Greene also commented. “I’ll just say it was a blessing for us to be here today. I think it was a door opening for our ministry.” He told how they want to reach more prisons to evangelize the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “We always did some type of a prison ministry. . . but just moving forward and seeing what we’re seeing now, I think it’s a glory to God moment.”