Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara, recently ministered to 300 inmates at a maximum-security prison, where 27 men reportedly gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
“Lord, there’s nothing better than YOU!!!” Wilson wrote. Over 300 Maximum Prison Inmates worshipping Jesus! His Grace and Spirit is overwhelming in the midst of mistakes. He still loves and forgives,” Wilson wrote on Instagram.
Wilson’s caption included the Bible verse John 3:17, which says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
According to Church Leaders, Wilson and Ciara visited Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami, Florida, last week. God Behind Bars, a Christian prison ministry, posted a video of the couple ministering to the inmates.
“27 incarcerated men gave their lives to Jesus inside of a maximum-security prison. 300 incarcerated men filled the prison chapel to hear a word from @dangerusswilson. He opened the night in Isaiah, “Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19. That is exactly what Jesus did in this prison,” God Behind Bars said in a reel shared to Facebook on March 9.
In the reel, Wilson is holding a Bible and telling the inmates that God is “a new thing.”
“After this moment, the prison chapel began to erupt in worship and praise,” the God Behind Bars post added. “The voices of the incarcerated were so loud, it felt like it could be heard by the entire prison. In a place so easily filled with so much division, there was a moment where incarcerated men put their arms around each other and prayed for those struggling with anxiety and depression.”
“You know what’s so beautiful about God’s love?” Ciara asked the men. “He don’t let off. He don’t let off.”
The singer added that she loves that “there’s no condemnation in Christ Jesus. So you ask for forgiveness, he will forgive you.”
“My heart is filled with joy,” she said as she was moved to tears.
Ciara then sang the worship song “Way Maker.” During the performance, “men came to the front and wept, giving their lives to Jesus. Many of these men are serving life sentences in prison, but now they will be spending LIFE with Jesus. It is hard to put words into what happened, but it was a night of UNITY, PRAISE, and SALVATION! We will never be the same! God is bringing revival to prisons! Jesus is doing a NEW THING.”
Over the weekend, however, Ciara was criticized by fans and Christians for wearing a near-naked outfit while she and her husband attended an Oscars after-party. She also posted a video in the outfit on her Instagram account.
“If we use our platforms to profess Jesus is king, then we also need to walk the talk,” one person commented, citing 1 Timothy 2:9.
“I’m not understanding … how does this represent Christ? Or maybe I misunderstood that you represented Christ as well … my bad if that’s not your confession. But to see your husband posting worship videos, and then I scroll to see this. The math ain’t mathing… somebody not telling the whole truth,” another person wrote.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Rodin Eckenroth/Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.