If you met Quovadis (“Q”) Marshall today, you’d never guess that he once lived a dangerous life in a gang with seemingly little hope for the future. When he was 19, Q was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison, leaving behind his girlfriend Angela and their 2-year-old child, Kaylee. Today, he pastors one of the fastest-growing churches in Iowa.
Behind bars, Q joined a Prison Fellowship program, a decision that changed everything. There, he recommitted his life to Christ and found an alternative to the non-trusting, survive-at-all-costs way of life that he had embraced. Prison Fellowship encouraged him and the other men in the program to live in an authentic community. Together, as the church behind bars, they encountered Jesus, studied the Bible, and were changed.
Founded by Chuck Colson after serving his own time in prison, Prison Fellowship is a great example of what can happen when the Church is the Church. Like with Q and his family during his time in prison, Prison Fellowship has been transformative for thousands of others through justice reform initiatives, in-prison outreaches and programs, family ministries, warden training, and church partnerships.
One of the most powerful programs of Prison Fellowship is Angel Tree. Today, 1 in 28 children in the U.S. have a parent behind bars, the majority of those parents being fathers. Many people know Angel Tree as the program that gives gifts to children whose parents are in prison, but that’s not exactly correct. Angel Tree provides gifts to children from their incarcerated parents. This is a way for the Church to help families stay connected while bringing the hope of the Gospel to those who need to hear it. Angel Tree also provides opportunities for these children to go to camp in the summer and provides resources for churches to serve these families throughout the year. In other words, Angel Tree provides a hopeful connection between children, their parents, and local churches.
Because of Angel Tree, Q’s daughter received Christmas gifts with Gospel messages from her dad. She also learned that her Heavenly Father loved her, too. She received a scholarship to attend a Christian summer camp, where she made new friends, met compassionate counselors, and experienced Jesus’ love.
“Through Angel Tree,” Kaylee said, “I got to have a pretty normal childhood in some aspects, even though a large part of my childhood was missing.”
The same local church that embraced Q’s family when he was in prison continued to embrace him and his family when he was released. Q married Angela, and together, they founded Hope City Church, where Q serves as lead pastor. In the summer of 2024, Q joined the Prison Fellowship Board of Directors—the first Prison Fellowship program graduate ever to do so. According to Q,
Any place the Gospel is declared, proclaimed, and demonstrated, lives will be changed. There’s a powerful presence of God, ministry of God, that happens when the local church shows up and says, ‘I’m here with you.’
Hope City is now one of the many churches partnering with Prison Fellowship and Angel Tree to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of families of the incarcerated. Together, they are living out the words of Jesus, who said, “I was in prison, and you came to me … Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
To learn more about Angel Tree and how to be involved this Christmas and throughout the year, visit prisonfellowship.org/angeltree.
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Photo Courtesy: ©Instagram/mychampcity
Published Date: September 16, 2024
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.