Glory Prison Ministry was birthed in 1991 and is one of the greatest things that ever happened in my life. Prior to January 1991, I had a dislike for the jail and the prison system, although, I was a Baptist Pastor and an Executive Assistant to the Governor. Somehow, I felt the prison system was a garbage dump. And what do you put in the garbage dump? Garbage. A mindset that God had to remove and He did it the right way.

Two weeks prior to me leaving the Governor’s Office, I found that my new job was working for the Georgia Dept. of Corrections. Commissioner Bobby Whitworth hired me to be an Exec. Assistant. He gave me the recidivism stats and said, "Jackey, with your background as a Baptist Pastor, your musical background, and your political background, you must help us curb recidivism." He handed me an article written by Chuck Coalson which stated that "90% of all inmates who receive a religious experience would most likely never return to prison again." At that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke so loudly and so clearly. My ministry would never be the same.

The prison ministry enhanced my church pastoralship. It was like God speaking in an audible voice, "If you don’t do your job, they’ll never be changed." The medical doctors work with the body, and we had the best doctors in the GA prison system; the psychologist works with behavior, and we had some of the best; the psychiatrist works with the mind, and we had some of the best. As the pastor, I was called and charged to work with the spirit of a man. And Chuck Coalson’s article said that unless you get the spirit of a man changed, he will always remain the same. I knew my mission. Hovie Lister of the Statesmen’s Quartet and the Master’s Five, and I went into prison after prison, and county camps with a list of about 7,000 converts. They signed their names in a booklet saying, "I received this Jesus that you brought us. I want to know this Jesus as my Lord and my Savior."

Then they started to call me when they were getting released asking me for some kind of help. Some of them were truly fearful of getting out of prison. I used my Governor’s network and got over 200 pastors in different towns across GA to help me when these prisoners returned home. When not being trained how to deal with prisoners returning home, and many of them were like I was before I read this article and started working in the prison system, they were afraid and didn’t want them at their church. I was in a dilemma. I realized that the key was aftercare. What happens to a person when he/she gets out of prison and the only place he/she has to go is back to the elements that got them in jail in the first place? Where do you find a job when people are afraid of you? Where do you find a place to stay when you only have $25 in your pocket? What about the family that you were returning to? All these questions came into my mind and one magnificent lesson I had learned. The only difference between them and myself was they got caught and I didn’t. If God could change me, He could change anybody, and I was a new creature.

I went to my County Commissioner first, County Commissioner Clarence Brown, and asked him if he would serve with me on a committee concerning ex-offenders. I then went to our local sheriff, Don Thurman, and told him what I wanted to do. I had been traveling for over two years, in and out of prisons preaching that Jesus is the key. Many guys would ask me, "Why is it that we can’t find the same Jesus in you fellows outside of prison as we do when you come here talking it?" I said, "Sheriff, I want to adopt your jail. My church wants your jail to be an extension of our church. We will come here once a week with the same quality service as we have in our church on Sunday mornings, and we will present what we are selling. And if a person receives our package, we will run interference for them for a job. We will find them a place to stay for a limited time and we will make them welcome at our church when they are released. We will minister to their families while they are still in and when they are released. If they need a bus ticket to get to the next town or to get home, we will provide that, because aftercare is the key."

For seven years, we have adopted our local county jail. We know every person that wants help, that goes in, that’s sincere and who gets out. We have bought bus tickets, motel rooms, meals, found jobs and places to stay.

One of my highlights was Quest Atlanta who had stated " Jesus Christ would never get lost at any major event held in Atlanta again." This included the Georgia Prison System. This is when the Prison Partnership was formed. The members were: Chuck Coalson’s Prison Fellowship, the Bill Glass Ministry, Full Gospel’s Businessmen’s Fellowship International Prison Ministry, Glory Prison Ministry, a representative from Justice Fellowship and Georgia Baptist Prison Ministry and the GA Dept. of Corrections to minister to 18 prisons during the 1994 Super Bowl in Atlanta. Out of this venture, thousands of inmates gave their lives to Christ. We used professional athletes that were in our state for the Superbowl. This partnership also concentrated on the 1984 Atlanta Billy Graham Crusade and the 1996 International Olympic Games held in Atlanta.

The second highlight is a networking team of aftercare ministries across this state. Third, is a young man called Greg Tremble, now Rev. Greg Tremble. Twelve years ago, at my first revival in a prison, Greg came to me with my write-up in a Voice Magazine. Although Greg had life plus 40 to serve, he was more free on the inside than I was on the outside preaching revivals. Greg stated that God had allowed him to go to prison to save his life. Eight years ago, Greg was miraculously let out of prison. Greg went to Mercer University in Macon and received his Bachelor’s Degree with honors. Dot Pinkerton was his aftercare overseer in the Macon area. Now Greg is an ordained Minister and totally free from any parole or probation. He has spoken at our church several times.  Last year he was certified a Chaplain by the GA Sheriff Association.