Stanley Stever, a man who committed murder in 1987 and served for 33 years in prison has led hundreds of other inmates to Christ. He is able to achieve this through his work with Kindway, a Ohio-based prison ministry founded in 2009.
The 52-year-old former inmate, in an interview with The Christian Post, said that being a Christian gives him the feeling that he now has a new heart.
Stever said, "Becoming a Christian was almost like being a recipient of a heart transplant, and it gave me the ability to come to the understanding that I have a new heart. And with that new heart, there's a new responsibility."
He was still in prison at the Marion Correctional Institution in Marion County when he became a Christian in 1999. He noted that he found healing when he started talking about his testimony to other inmates.
Stever continued, "I have heard it said several times that 'forgiveness is not forgetfulness. This means that you overcome the enemy by the blood of the lamb and the words of your testimony.
"But, don't ever forget the things that the enemy did through you, in order that you might show the power of Christ to others in the Word through Him."
He said he had a troubled past which made him to commit murder again. Besides, he was bullied in school and he also suffered anger issues.
"It was always name-calling. I was a bigger kid. My name is Stanley Stever. So, they called me 'Stanley Steamer.' I became the joke of the school. And every day I went to school, I hated it.
"I would physically get sick walking into school because of the anxiety that I had about going to school and knowing that I was going to be teased and belittled the whole day. And really, that's when the anger and the rage first started, which changed my mindset as a child,” Stever recalled.
However, Stever is now a changed person who has seen the light and has led many others to Christ.
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