Darryl Anderson has discovered his purpose. Retired from the US Postal Service and having
raised two children, Darryl now carries the Word of God to troubled youth
behind bars in Juvenile Hall.
Darryl has never been incarcerated but grew up with the pain
of a father who chose alcohol, women, and gambling over his family. Darryl left home at 17, bitter and angry,
vowing never to be like his father when raising his own children.
When his older brother miraculously walked away, unscathed, from
a horrible car accident, his brother came to know the God who saves. Through the power of his brothers testimony
and the love other Christians shared with him, God began to chip away at
Darryls hard heart.
God pursued Darryl and took away the blinders of unbelief;
He changed Darryls attitude, demeanor and heart. Recognizing Gods grace and mercy had saved
him, Darryl felt a burden to serve the men at Donovan State Prison.
After several years of sharing Gods love with the men
behind bars, he discovered two common denominators among many of the inmates: as teenagers they had been to Juvenile Hall
and most grew up without a father in the home.
Darryl recognized this as an opportunity to show the
Fathers love and compassion to the teens in Juvenile Hall. He wanted to stem the tide of violence and
crime by planting the seed of Gods Word in the hearts of incarcerated
youth. He knew Gods promises that His
Word never returns void, that its alive and active, and transforms hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus.
Gods Word Penetrates
Hearts
Aint you the church guy? The words shot across the career
fair table, as teens were ushered through the building to collect information
that might inspire them to go in a positive direction.
Darryl Anderson rarely saw the teenage boys outside the
walls of Kearny Mesa Juvenile Hall where he and five other volunteers from the
Rock Church share Gods message of love and hope. As minors, these boys come out of the system
with no additional follow-up allowed.
On this rare occasion, at Career Day, as Darryl was handing
out Bibles, he looked at the kid wearing the grey camp uniform and said, Yep,
thats me. What did you learn when you
heard me teach in Juvy?
The dark-faced teenager looked Darryl in the eyes and said,
I learned Colossians 3:20: Obey your
parents to please God.
Darryl beamed, thrilled that the boy remembered the
Scripture he preached to the teens that rotated, every three weeks, through
chapel services.
To have a blessed life, Darryl teaches the youth to obey
their parents rules, authority figures and God. Using an illustration the teens can relate
to, he teaches that obeying traffic signs protects us from going off the side
of the road and that following rules prevents people from getting injured. The same is true of Gods Word in that
obeying the teachings of the Bible protects us from experiencing unnecessary
harm, regret and despair.
Darryl says, I emphasize the importance of reading the Word
daily to get all the blessings that God has for them. After the message he offers them the
opportunity to sign a contract that reads, I will obey my parents in all
things for this is well pleasing to the Lord (Colossians 3:20).
Most of the wayward boys agree to sign the contract. One boy asked Darryl for another explaining
that when his mother visited him the previous week, he gave her the signed
contract as a gift.
The Value of Teamwork
Darryl Anderson depends on his dedicated team who come
together, using their various gifts, talents and compassion, to minister Gods
grace to the youth. They pray together
for God to raise up a generation of teachers, preachers and ministers of Gods
Word.
Darryl invests in the lives of San Diegos hurting youth at
Juvenile Hall, demonstrating the love of Jesus and preaching the Word of God-
the only hope for a lost generation.
