Visitors to the Screven County Jail Sunday afternoon had the opportunity to witness something very unusual.
But very important to those involved.
Twenty-one of the jail’s inmates were baptized in a trough filled with water by a Southern Baptist minister from Rincon. The group of inmates made their way to the fenced in area in front of the jail for the ceremony.
One by one the inmates -- all men -- were baptized by Roland Dann, who has visited the facility on a regular basis for nearly a year.
Dann said he appreciated Sheriff Mike Kile for allowing him and others from The Lighthouse, a Southern Baptist Church, to come and minister at the jail. The Lighthouse holds its regular meetings in the Effingham YMCA on Patriot Drive in Rincon.
“He has been so gracious,” said Dann of Kile. “We take Bibles to the inmates, It has been really refreshing. I have been to a lot of prisons and the jailers act like they don’t want you there. But Sheriff Kile is not like that.
“I applaud Mr. Mike for what he does,” Dann said.
“I am totally amazed by the response we have received,” Dann said. “There are a lot of people seeking Jesus.”
Kile said he hopes that the decisions these men have made to be baptized will change their lives.
“I hope they never come back to a place like this ever again,” said Kile of the jail. “The preacher has worked very hard. Hopefully, this will start them back on the right road.”
As friends and family watched from outside the fence, Dann told the 21 men that this decision is the most important one of their lives.
“When someone gets saved, angels in Heaven rejoice,” Dann told them before they took turns being baptized.