By Tony Martin
Editor
Recently, Mid-Delta Baptist Association Missions Strategist Tommy Williamson; First Baptist Church Greenwood pastor Collin Montgomery; worship pastor Garrett Sayger; and resident minister Luke Johnson visited the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) at Parchman. Their purpose was to help church plants inside the prison become part of the Mid-Delta Association, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Darosky, pastor of Near Life Experience Church at MSP, shared his story.
“I am a former gang member,” Darosky said. “I got entangled in a lot of stuff, and I ended up in solitary here for two years.
“Looking back, I was raised in church. It was while I was in that cell that I realized I needed to change. So I called out to God, and He answered so clearly that it scared me. There was a Bible in the cell, and I asked Him to show me a verse that would help me. I opened that Bible directly to 2 Corinthians 5:17.”
The passage reads: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Darosky said that verse changed his life. He earned his GED while in solitary confinement, then went on to receive a college degree through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While researching for a paper on righteousness, he ran across an article by Kenneth Copeland that also referenced 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Darosky became a Christian during that time. “I was always a leader in the organizations I was involved in,” he said, referring to his gang activity. “I was able to use those gifts for good.”
Christopher, associate pastor of Koinonia Church, another Parchman church plant, said, “We had 260 in church Sunday. There are 834 inmates in our block, so that’s one-fourth of that group in our church. And that’s even during football season.”
Joshua, an elder with Near Life Experience, added, “It’s amazing when broken men finally say, ‘I can’t make it.’ You start looking for the one who can make a difference. God Almighty has to do it.”
Christopher said, “Jesus helps us connect on a basic human level. We’re all broken, and when we’re healed we want people to find that same healing.”
Brandon, assistant pastor at Near Life Experience, pointed to Darosky and said, “I came here as a college student. You wouldn’t believe it, but Darosky and I are united in Christ. We come from totally different places. We’re brothers now.
“Brokenness is the commonality among all of us,” Brandon said. “No man is hiding anymore. We’re all pressing on to that same goal.”
“We’re all connected into the same vine,” Christopher said. “We grow together.”
“Our worst day doesn’t define our destiny,” Joshua added. “The person I was isn’t the person I’ve become.”
Christopher emphasized that Koinonia Church focuses on being a faith community. “Spiritual health is a big deal to us,” he said. “We meet people where they are. We want people to find God and discover their purpose. Here in prison, our story is still being written. We want people to answer questions: What are your possibilities? What is His plan? We want every member of our church to serve.”
Christopher will become pastor of Near Life Experience in March.
Grace Church, another prison congregation, is led by pastor Jamien.
“My calling to ministry was contrary to the life I wanted to live,” Jamien said.
Jamien was incarcerated in county jail for three years. “I’d gone astray,” he said. “But I was arrested again. All the support I’d built up was stripped away. When I went back to jail, I saw my name written on the wall of the cell I’d been in. I erased it. I realized I needed to leave my mark in a good way and not just a name.”
Jamien began sharing his faith with others. “I gave one guy a honey bun, but to get it he had to read ‘Our Daily Bread.‘ He’s since become a Christian.”
He later transferred to South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville, where he handed out prayer cards and led Bible studies daily.
Jamien eventually enrolled in seminary with encouragement from a fellow inmate who was convicted in the 1997 Pearl High School mass shooting and has since professed faith in Christ. Jamien is now pastor of Grace Church.
Frank, co-pastor of Grace, said, “I grew up with Christian parents. We were middle class, and we were members of First Baptist Church, Brandon. But I had secrets. Sexual depravity issues. I was arrested, and the Lord broke me. I lost everything.”
Frank is serving a mandatory 20-year sentence. “They say there’s no rehab for sex offenders,” he said. “God changes people. And He’s given me an evangelist’s heart.”
Elder Guillerman said his background was steeped in gang violence in California, Texas and Louisiana. He became a Christian in 2008.
After his girlfriend died of a fentanyl overdose, Guillerman said, “It got real.” He was incarcerated in 2021 and now serves as an elder and preacher with Grace Church.
“Look at us,” Jamien said. “We’re a diverse group! We have a Black guy, a white guy and a Hispanic. God binds us together.”
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