While Tommy Fisher was serving an aggravated life sentence, he was also leading a prison gang and persecuting other inmates who claimed to be Christian. The story of what happened to him after he joined the Kairos Prison Ministry is powerful and full of raw emotion. Fisher credits God and Kairos with transforming his life. "I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt like Paul felt. And from that day forward God has just been blessing my life," Fisher says.
Read the Terms of Use
Script:
Tommy Fisher: "I'm gonna tell you about Kairos, this prison ministry that comes inside them walls to dead men. A lot of people say we're dead men. I was just a mad man. Everybody got a story but when you really get touched by God, that's when you know you got a real story.
Well my name is Tommy Fisher. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in the street gangs there. I got in a lot of trouble. I ended up doing 20 years. 11 months flat in prison. I had an aggravated life sentence. I wasn't supposed to never get out.
I ran the gangs in prison. You know, I hurt a lot of men for some crazy reasons. I used to actually get Christians beat up because they said they wanted to come to Christ. That's how crazy and radical I was. But when they picked Kairos, they only picked the worst inmates on the unit. Because they want the roughest dudes on the unit, the fools, to get changed. And this ministry is actually going in here and showing this love and changing people like that.
I'm gonna tell you the truth, I went for their food. I didn't go to get saved but God had set me up. When I was sitting there, man, I was listening to this dude talk. You know when Paul was on the road to Damascus, and Jesus, just Jesus' presence knocked him off that horse? I know for a fact, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt like Paul felt. And from that day forward, God has just been blessing my life.
While I was in that prison, I got into the Therapon Theological Seminary and Bible Institute. I got a bachelor's degree in biblical studies. I also went to college and I got me an LBT. I just thank God for God has blessed me. I got a license to counsel.
You know, I really thank God for what he changed me into because I used to be a monster. I used to really be a monster. The only reason why I don't know if I ever killed a man is I never went back and asked the man who I shot, was he dead? But I shot a lot of people and I hurt a lot of people's lives. But ministries like Kairos can go inside them walls and show a man God's love.
Man if I could tell anybody about Kairos, man, it's changing lives. I gotta give God back what he gave me. He gave me back my life. He gave me them years that the locusts stole from me. He gave them back to me. And I'm thankful for it."
Tag:
Kairos Prison Ministry International has 30,000 volunteers working with inmates in areas of the United States and in several countries. This video was produced by Woodlands United Methodist Church in Texas and United Methodist Communications.
