Prisoner-Preachers?

 History was made today! 

I’m not exaggerating. It was a historic moment for the Christian Reformed Church of North America. It was a historic moment for the Michigan Department of Corrections. And it was a historic moment for HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS. 

The Christian Reformed Church has two new pastors today. In an impressive ceremony attended by 16 people at the Muskegon Correctional Facility, two prisoners were ordained! Pastor Mark Urban and Pastor Crisanto Escabalzeta are both serving lengthy sentences on charges involving criminal sexual conduct. Neither will be eligible for parole until the 2030s. 

It's an amazing story of redemption! 

The two men first completed years of study in Calvin Prison Initiative. CPI is a Christian liberal arts education program for Michigan inmates. That was only the first step in their decade-long pursuit of ordination. Even though they could not continue their studies in a seminary, tutors were provided. Finally came the reward! 

Celebration Fellowship Church of Grand Rapids made the decision that both should be ordained as pastors of their church (an unusual church with roots both inside and outside of prison). The next step was approval by the denomination’s Classis Grand Rapids East. The culmination finally arrived today with a touching in-prison ordination ceremony attended by MCF Warden James Scheibner, representatives of Celebration Fellowship, delegates from the Calvin University and Hope College prison education programs, and others who were instrumental in this lengthy journey. 

In emotional testimonies, the two new pastors thanked all who assisted them in reaching this new chapter in their lives.     

I’m proud to say that there are HFP fingerprints all over this amazing, beautiful story! 

-Urban and Escabalzeta are both clients of HFP. 

-HFP Executive Director, Mark Hartman, a former client, was a fellow classmate of the guys and offered a prayer of blessing for Urban in today’s service. 

- Shawn England, another classmate and former HFP client, offered a similar prayer for Escabalzeta. 

-Participating in the service as well was retired seminary prof Dr. John Rottman, a former HFP board member and former HFP interim Executive Director. 

-And, this important footnote. The late David Duyst, a wrongly convicted HFP client who died behind bars in 2018, was a strong force in persuading the department to allow Crisanto to enroll in the CPI program! 

In some ways, I guess we might call this whole saga miraculous. On the other hand, for God dramatic change is nothing new. 

As I recall there was this guy named Saul who was notorious for his efforts to stomp out the church and kill Christians long ago. A literal “come-to-Jesus- moment” in his life resulted in a name change, and by actual word count Preacher Paul is credited, in his new career, with writing 25% of the entire New Testament! 

Late this afternoon two new clergymen immediately began their new pastoral and counseling duties at MCF. 

And, while this item may not make headlines in your local newspaper or TV newscasts, please take it from a veteran journalist: This is historic! 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17