Oscar Osorio

In January 1990, inmates of Colombia’s Bellavista prison rioted after daily violence prompted prison guards to walk off the job. Local leaders called on the Colombian army to intervene. But days into the standoff, Oscar Osorio, a Bellavista convict who became a prison chaplain, gathered a handful of Christian volunteers associated with Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship International. Singing hymns and carrying white flags, Osorio and his volunteers marched in procession through the prison gates, unsure if their lives would be spared. Osorio found the prison’s public address system was still working, so the chaplain boldly called prisoners to repentance. Stunning prison authorities, the inmates laid down their weapons. The riot was over. But more than that, the killing stopped and the gospel swept through Bellavista like a holy fire.

Since then, evangelicals have embraced Bellavista as an important place to help Colombians practice mutual forgiveness and achieve reconciliation. “Every day all over the prison we have 500 inmates meeting at 6 a.m. for discipleship,” said Jeannine Brabon who heads Prison Fellowship in the Medellin region. “Evenings are devoted to worship, and weekends to evangelizing family members and friends who come to visit.” Seeing the inmates’ desire for deeper Bible training, Jeannine helped to start the Bellavista Bible Institute in 1991. Inmates who move on to a higher level of training attend classes taught by Jeannine or seminary students. Hundreds of men have graduated the program and more than 40 serve as full time pastors.