Lance began his ministry, Church Behind the Walls, in 1999 in the Georgia State Prison System. He would minister in three of the men’s prisons weekly, conducting worship services, Bible studies, training classes, prayer meetings and counseling. Lance believed that God could change anyone’s life, even those whose hearts had been hardened by their own mistakes and the hardships of this life. Many of those men had no one on the outside to love and care for them. Lance’s deepest desire was to bring the love of Christ to these forgotten men and equip them to be ministers to others who walk those roads with them, and prepare them for life on the outside, where they could continue to share the Gospel of Christ.
Where there is one inmate behind bars, there are countless others who are affected by his decisions, actions and circumstances—parents, siblings, spouses, children, aunts and uncles—whole families that have become fractured and live with broken hearts and incredible pain, day after day. Lance’s goal was to return those individuals back to their families, as totally new and changed people—never to return to life behind bars again.
Church Behind the Walls also provided packaged treats to the Prison Chaplains on a weekly basis that they could use to reward inmates for helping others. Churches that sponsored the ministry helped provide hygiene products that were given to all of the inmates at Christmas and also throughout the year if one had a specific need for these items. Those products were not provided by the prison, but were daily necessities for anyone (such as toothpaste, a toothbrush, comb, deodorant and other basic-need items).
Lance’s ministry went into three facilities in Georgia—Central State Prison in Macon, GA, Macon Transitional Center and Washington State Prison in Davisboro, GA. One year, they conducted 64 services in those three facilities and 1,026 men gave their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ during those services. Lance truly did make an “Eternal Difference” with his ministry.