Revival Transforms Life of Prison Guard

Kevin lived the good life. He went home to his family every night.

But on September 11, 2001, Kevin watched a national tragedy unfold. That is when Kevin realized his own desperate need for God.

"I looked at myself," says Kevin, "and I thought, Some of these people in these buildings, they were at their computers and writing and all of a sudden they were no more. I looked at myself and I thought, Tomorrow if it were my time, and if Jesus asked what I had done with my life, I didn't have a whole lot of answers for Him."

Kevin's wife, Sandy, knew her husband needed to re-evaluate his life. Kevin reluctantly admitted that he sometimes had a lousy attitude toward his family.

"He could never find happiness," says Sandy. "To put it in a nutshell, he'd have moments of happiness, but they would lapse away so quickly. He did not have a lot of patience. Some of those characteristics did come from his work. In the environment he works in, there is a lot of anger, and I know it's hard to be in that environment and to shut it off when he gets home."

"If I came home, I could be just fine and walk in the back door and it would take a little thing to set me off," says Kevin. "I'm not talking about abuse or anything, but verbally, absolutely, language that's not fit for human consumption, as far as I'm concerned, around my kids. It's just not acceptable, but I never saw that before."

Kevin took the words "wake-up call" seriously. He forced himself to ask a profound question:

"Now what do you do? How do you fix this?"

Deep down, Kevin knew what he had to do to fill the huge void in his life because he had been raised a Christian.

"I didn't know where I was going for sure," he says, so I did what I knew to do. I believe in God and I believe in Jesus Christ, and I just started reading the Bible. When I started reading the Bible, I knew I needed to walk in His ways. I knew that's what I needed to do - get closer to Him and walk in His ways."

But where was this father and husband going to find direction? The answer came, in part, from a TV show he'd never seen before.

"I was looking for anything that I could absolutely do to be closer to Him," says Kevin. "I had the TV on one day, and I was watching The 700 Club. They had this booklet Steps to Revival, and they were describing how they wanted everyone to pray for people in America."

Enthusiastic over his chance to "do something," Kevin committed to pray and ordered Steps to Revival.
He got it and he did it. But one step was tough -- humbling himself before God and asking forgiveness.

"There was one step there," says Kevin. "You had to get yourself right before you could do any good or you could do anybody else good, and you needed to ask for forgiveness. It's that simple. You need to humble yourself.

"I took a day off just to do this step. I got down on my hands and knees and asked for forgiveness," he says. "You need to take your time and get it off your chest and list things from the past or present. Then you just take it out and burn it, get rid of it, and that's what I did."

Kevin knew he had a new beginning in Jesus Christ

"It's hard to describe the joy I have in my heart," he says. "To me it's amazing, awesome. It's just a happiness that you know when you're talking to Him that He's listening."

Kevin's attitude changed dramatically at home and at work. He even occasionally talks to a receptive inmate about getting involved in the church the prison provides.

"I can't even say the changes were gradual because they were actually very immediate," says Sandy. "It was like he got the wake-up call and he began praying. He had the pamphlet for some guidance, and he really just turned his life around.

"It really was amazing because ... he was never a bad husband or father, but he had faults like everyone does. But he really got a handle on things and took control of his life and became the person he knew that he could be."

"My dad has definitely changed around the house," says one of Kevin's daughter. "He used to get mad about the littlest things. He used to get mad about all the schedules that we had. Now he helps mom with taking us places and doing things with us on the weekends."

A second daughter agrees. "I'm very glad he's changed a lot since September 11 because it's not only made an impact on him, it's made an impact on us, too."

A desire for a closer relationship with Jesus and a booklet from a ministry that wants to see revival -- that combination is changing lives.

"I absolutely support where Kevin is going in his life," says Sandy. "We've talked about this many times, and I have to say I'm not in the same place that Kevin is. I don't know what to call the experience he had, but it was very powerful. It was something that really grabbed him and turned him around.

"As his wife I support him, and it's made me a better person because I know it's the right thing to do," she says. "I'm following. It's been good for our entire family."

"My priorities today are to always put Him first," says Kevin. "I haven't put Him first before. I never did that at all. I want to put Him first.

"I want Him to lead me. I want Him to show me where I need to go. I want Him to show me if I'm supposed to make a left turn or a right turn. Then that's what I need to do, instead of me leading me because I wasn't driving very straight before."

Like Kevin, many in America experienced a wake up call on September 11. People were desperate for answers -- and desperate for God. Partners made it possible to print and mail over 3.5 million copies of Step to Revival, the booklet that helped Kevin get his priorities straight and his life back on track with God. If you would like a copy of Steps to Revival, you can download it now or call the 700 Club Prayer and Counseling Center at 1(800) 759-0700 and request a free copy.

If you are not a partner, please join with us. For 65 cents a day -- $20 a month -- you minister to people like Kevin, who are searching for answers, as well as provide food, clothing and medical care to those who need a tangible expression of God's love. Join today!

Click here to download "Steps to Revival".