Personal Insights: Lightning Alley Crusade: A First-Timer’s Impression

By Tyler Smith, rookie crusade participant and son of veteran MA Kirk Smith

I’d like to say how much of a blessing this trip was to me – an experience I will never forget. It was crazy to see how much of a blessing we received while trying to bless others.

One thing that surprised me about this past week was how nice most of the inmates were to us. I was not expecting them to accept us, and what we had to say, the way they did. We had 67 inmates come to know Christ while we were in Florida for only four days! I was honored to get to speak to and pray with many inmates throughout the week, and every one of them were open and honest about their struggles or heartaches, and eager to listen to what we had to say.

The inmates were thankful for our visit, and they let us know how much our being there meant to them. I’m not sure if that was because they were able to play softball for a couple of hours, or because they were able to talk to someone new, but they all were very accepting of us. Several of them took time to ask me if I had any prayer requests and prayed over me and the ministry!

Looking back on the trip, conversations with many guys stick out to me. I believe most of the men I spoke with this week are unsaved, but I had a chance to minister to and pray with them, which hopefully helped them along on their journey to Christ. I will continue praying for each and every man that I interacted with this week, and I hope that I made an impact on their lives. I had an exciting time, and I will definitely be going on more of these trips in the future!