Retired Doctor Offers New Hope to Prisoners

For years, Dr. DeForest "Woody" Metcalf put people to sleep. Now, through his prison ministry, he hopes to awaken many to something better.

A former anesthesiologist, the 80-year-old Metcalf has been involved in prison ministries for 25 years, much of it occurring since his retirement. He and his wife, Mildred, live at Shell Point Village, a retirement community in Fort Myers, Florida, but remain members of First Covenant Church in Youngstown, Ohio.

In addition to his prison ministry work, Metcalf spends most Wednesdays on a farm as part of a program to help train people to better serve developing countries in improving agricultural and horticultural practices.

Metcalf started ministering to prisoners under the auspices of Bill Glass Ministries, a program started by former professional football player Bill Glass. One of Metcalf's friends, Dr. Arthur Svedberg, convinced him to participate on one of the ministries' local boards. Since retirement, Metcalf regularly spends weekends at several Florida prisons, most often arriving on a Thursday night and staying near the prison for three days.

"It was something intriguing to me," said Metcalf of his initial prison ministry experience. "It seems like it gets great results. Many prisoners have changed their lives so much. Once you've been there, it's addictive. You see the guys and you see the changes. You feel like you've done something worthwhile. It's something I look forward to each time.

"The great majority of prisoners are young kids, so I relate as a grandfather now," Metcalf continued. "I've never found a prisoner yet who doesn't respect me for my age. They just can't believe we would do this for them."

Once ministry participants arrive at a given location, a plenary session is conducted with a well-known Christian personality sharing ministry experiences. Each morning a group is bused to a prison - sometimes more than 100 people. The only pieces of material allowed are a yellow book filled with the Four Spiritual Laws or a small Bible.

On Friday and Saturday nights, after the group returns from their assigned prisons, a meal is shared and an opportunity provided for participants to discuss the day's events.

Statistics show that the prison ministry contributes to a marked improvement in prisoner behavior at the prisons, Metcalf says, also stating that prisoners who accept Christ are less likely to return to prison once released than those who do not come to faith. He cites one study that suggests 75 percent of non-Christian inmates return to prison following release, compared to one-third of those who accept Christ while imprisoned. Statistical evidence further suggests that the return rate drops even more for those inmates involved in a prison discipleship program prior to release.

"The difference between this (Bill Glass Ministries) and many others (smaller, independent efforts) is that the smaller groups may only go in for an hour or two at a time and the prisoners may not even show up," Metcalf said. "With the Bill Glass Ministries weekends, the bulletins get put up and people look forward to it. On a single day, there may be up to four sessions. The ministers to the prisoners will also eat lunch with the prisoners. They often stay from dawn to dusk at the prisons."

Metcalf suggests that those considering prison ministry first try a one-day approach, such as the "Ministry for a Day" or "A Day in Prison" outreach efforts. These programs allow a volunteer to visit a prison on a Friday night and stay until Saturday afternoon. There can be a feeling of frustration in dealing with the bureaucratic red tape that unavoidably accompanies the process, but Metcalf says the results make it worth the effort.

"Usually it's just the first time that's disquieting," said Metcalf about ministering to prisoners. "Then you realize that most of them are nice guys who got in trouble." Recalling scenes of visiting family members separated by the double bars, Metcalf says "that's when it's heart rending and you realize it could be your own kids."

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