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Prison Ministry
 “You’re not coming to see inmates — you are coming to see people.”
Since 1986, Linda and Dallas have traveled to Gatesville, Texas, ministering
to the women inmates at Mountain View Unit, one of the prisons in the large
system there. After the first few years, they began bringing teams of volunteers
from throughout the country. Through the years, the team developed relationships
with all of the women at the prison, including the women on Death Row. Linda
developed a particularly close friendship with Karla Faye
Tucker and was asked to be her spiritual advisor prior to her execution on
February 3, 1998. Following Karla’s execution, more prisons in Gatesville opened
their doors to the ministry, expanding opportunities to take volunteers to over
8,000 inmates in the eight prison units.
A month before her execution, Karla told the team:
“You guys come in here and you don’t see inmates, you see people.
You
see people who are either in the body of Christ, or people who are still lost
in sin. You don’t see people who have committed crimes; you see people who
have committed sins. That makes a big difference in someone’s life like mine.
We feel acceptance from you …. You’re not coming to see inmates—you
are coming to see people. That’s why people open up to you. God has anointed
you to do deep inner healing and restoration.”
The Gatesville Prisons
The Gatesville, Texas, prisons have a population of
approximately 11,000 inmates. They are located in Central Texas, about 120
miles south of Dallas (about 200 miles west and slightly north of Houston, which
is on the Texas Gulf Coast).
 | Huntsville—approximately 1500 male inmates;
executions take place here; approximately 80 miles north of Houston
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| Gatesville—approximately 8,200 inmates:
5,300 women, 2,900 men
 | Gatesville Unit—approximately 2,000 women (actually five
“prisons”, including Hackberry, Reception, Trustee, and
Sycamore) |
| Hilltop Unit—approximately 550 women |
| Mountain View Unit—approximately 600 women; includes Death
Row |
| Murray Unit—approximately 1,250 women |
| Woodman Unit—approximately 900 women |
| Hughes Unit—approximately 2,900 men
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In our Resources section,
you’ll find
our “Gatesville Ministry”
video along with other videos, books, and audio tapes you can order.
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