January 3, 2010
Reported by Chen Wei-jian, Lin Yi-ying
Written by Lydia Ma

Prisons across Taiwan held baptismal services on December 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. According to reports from Prison Fellowship Taiwan alone, more than 700 inmates were baptized on that day by local Prison Fellowship staff.

Among those who were baptized, the most renowned inmate was Huang Ling-chi, who made headlines last year when he threw his daughter into a pot of boiling water after having a fight with his partner while intoxicated. His daughter later died at the hospital. Huang's baptism was also witnessed by former Premier Chang Chun-hsiung.

According to Chang, who is now a permanent volunteer at Prison Fellowship Taiwan, he visited Huang four times over the past few months. Huang was very distraught at first over what he had done and even contemplated suicide. After much prayer and numerous visits from Prison Fellowship volunteers, he slowly accepted reality and repented of his actions.

Huang was able to pray with volunteers and share what he'd learned from reading the Bible when Chang visited him for the second time. At the end of that visit, Chang promised that if Huang decided to be baptized one day, he would attend his baptismal service.

According to reports, after Huang entered the penitentiary, his roommate gave him a Bible and prayed for him. After a few months of interaction with Prison Fellowship volunteers, he quit smoking and turned his behavior around. His transformation made an impression on two other roommates who were also baptized on that day.

One Prison Fellowship volunteer said that although these inmates live inside prison walls, volunteers still take very seriously a decision to follow Christ and be baptized. They always meet with inmates at least twice before the baptism and teach them the basics of the Christian faith so that inmates truly know what their new-found faith.

Prison Fellowship Taiwan Secretary-General Rev. Huang Ming-chen emphasized that getting baptized while in prison is only the beginning of a journey. The real work for volunteers is reaching out to these inmates once they are released and helping them find a church where they can be rooted in their faith and grow.

Volunteers are well aware that the rate of re-incarceration is about 50% on average, and as high as 90% among drug addicts. However, only 5% of those who truly commit their lives to Christ are re-incarcerated, a powerful testimony of the impact of faith in a person's life.

Taiwan Church News