The Chosen premiered an unreleased episode in a Texas prison
Three actors from the series walked into the room after the screening and talked about second chances with about 200 men.
About 200 men incarcerated at the Carol S. Vance Unit in Richmond, Texas, watched the first episode of The Chosen's sixth season before its premiere. When it ended, three actors walked into the room, La Corriente reported.
The actors were Noah James (Andrew), Abe Bueno-Jallad (James, son of Zebedee) and George H. Xanthis (John). The screening, held in late September according to La Corriente, grew out of a partnership between Prison Fellowship and Come and See, the ministry behind the series. Since 2023, that organization has brought The Chosen to more than 300 prisons in the United States.
A room with popcorn and three actors at the end
The men of the Prison Fellowship Academy turned a room into a movie theater. There was decoration inspired by the series, popcorn and candy like Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids, La Corriente reported. For some, it had been years since they had experienced a screening like this.
«Faith doesn't premiere on a red carpet»
When they were asked by a show of hands how many had seen all the episodes, almost everyone raised a hand. Several of the men in the room were also close to being released, according to that outlet.
That's no small thing: the series about Jesus was watched inside a prison, popcorn included, and the topic of second chances stopped being a slogan and became a conversation.
"You can always change your story"
Noah James said it in front of the men: "No matter what has happened before, you can always change your story."
It sounds good. And it sounds incomplete if it stands alone. No one rewrites their story by willpower alone; the changes that last are born of God's grace, received by faith in Christ. Scripture puts it this way: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV).
That is the difference between self-improvement and the gospel. Self-improvement leaves you alone facing your record. The gospel tells you that forgiveness is not earned: it is received, because Jesus is the only way to the Father (see John 14:6) and in him condemnation is left behind.
The men who appear in Prison Fellowship's video were not identified. One said he came to know Christ in a dangerous environment, outside of prison. Another described three and a half years of taking the Word, prayer and fasting seriously, after seven years of ups and downs. James, for his part, urged them not to underestimate what they can contribute and mentioned Matthew, the disciple who in the series doubts his ability to help.
What would your church do for those no one visits?
Doug Deason, president of the Deason Foundation, said that about 97% of those incarcerated will be released, and that it makes sense to prepare them because they will be our neighbors. Heather Rice Minus, of Prison Fellowship, said that seeing those men connect with the story of Jesus is moving, and that no one is beyond God's reach.
That 97% should make us uncomfortable. Almost all of them get out. The question is not whether we will cross paths with them, but when. If your church doesn't have a concrete idea yet, here are three that don't require a budget: write to someone who is incarcerated, support their family, and pray for the programs already working on the inside.
Faith doesn't premiere on a red carpet. It is tested in a room with popcorn, in a Texas prison, where someone hears for the first time that their story can change. What would your church do this week for those no one visits?
