Setting The Captives Free Ministry: A Brief History
Setting The Captives Free Ministry found its humble beginnings more than 20 years ago in a ragtag group of Believers who had a common calling upon their lives to share the Gospel in jails and prisons across the United States and abroad. From county jails, to state facilities, through federal prisons, from Peru to the Philippines, God has allowed the servants of this ministry to share the message of the cross, of hope and salvation to men and women near and far. From Trenton, New Jersey to San Quinton, to the hallways of Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, California the Lord has showed tremendous favor and has allowed the harvest to be ripe for the harvesting.
What began as a simple desire to share all that God had restored and redeemed in the life of a woman who was addicted to drugs and alcohol for 13 years, who had found herself incarcerated and lost, God has raised up a group of people who have one single focus and desire. A desire to serve those who are incarcerated. To preach the message of the cross unto salvation. To not only bring people to salvation, but to bring them to maturity in their faith through discipleship and the reading and studying of the Word, being able to give them resources to thrive apart from incarceration, within the local church.
As God began to lay the foundations of Setting The Captives Free Ministry on the heart of Chaplain Evans He revealed to her His purpose and desire for the ministry:
What began as a simple desire to share all that God had restored and redeemed in the life of a woman who was addicted to drugs and alcohol for 13 years, who had found herself incarcerated and lost, God has raised up a group of people who have one single focus and desire. A desire to serve those who are incarcerated. To preach the message of the cross unto salvation. To not only bring people to salvation, but to bring them to maturity in their faith through discipleship and the reading and studying of the Word, being able to give them resources to thrive apart from incarceration, within the local church.
As God began to lay the foundations of Setting The Captives Free Ministry on the heart of Chaplain Evans He revealed to her His purpose and desire for the ministry:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “Do not be afraid of them,
For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.
(Jeremiah 1: 5-10)
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “Do not be afraid of them,
For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.
(Jeremiah 1: 5-10)
From the West Coast to the Mid West, from the East Coast and abroad, God has done a tremendous work and continues to move even today in the lives of others. Chaplain Sandra Evans and Setting The Captives Free Ministry now serves full-time at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, California. Ministering to over 2,400 women, with a staff of 13 chaplains, and 100+ servants who volunteer on a monthly basis, the women of CRDF are cared for and ministered to every day. "For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us." (1 Thessalonians 2:5-8) The women of CRDF are loved and prayed for, ministered to and blessed. God has used, and continues to use, the servants of Setting The Captives Free to remind the women of CRDF that though they may be despised and rejected by the world, they have not been forgotten nor have they been forsaken. He loves them and cares for them. He has a plan for their lives that begins with the very Salvation of their souls.
Senior Chaplain Sandra Evans: A Broken and Shattered Life Restored
Senior Chaplain Sandra Evans has served faithfully in prison ministry for over 20 years and as the Senior Chaplain and missionary to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, in the heart of Los Angeles, for over 8 years. Coming out of a life and drugs and incarceration, the Lord placed a calling on Chaplain Evans life to enter into the ministry to serve the lost women of Los Angeles and women across the world with the hope of the Gospel and the message of the Cross.
Chaplain Evans was born in in East Los Angeles and grew up in Norwalk, Ca, a suburb of Los Angeles. Although she was born and raised in a middle class family, residing with both Mom and Dad, she fell into a life of drugs at the age of 13 and continued on a downward spiral until the age of 26, at which time she was saved and entered the Walter Hoving Home for Women to allow the Lord to restore her broken and shattered life. Chaplain Evans has called Calvary Chapel Downey her home since the day of her salvation, over 20 years ago, and now serves as a missionary through the church as the Senior Chaplain of Century Regional Detention Center. She received her Chaplain training through CC Downey and her field training through Senior Chaplain Holland at CRDF. Chaplain Evans currently has two daughters and two grandchildren.
Chaplain Evans has seen, and continues to see, the hand of God moving in the hearts and lives of countless women who have passed through the system. As the Senior Chaplain of the largest womens jail in the United States, Chaplain Evans realizes the grace and favor that God has poured out upon CRDF, as doors continue to be wide open for ministry. Her desire is that the message of the cross be preached in season and out of season, giving every opportunity to everyone who passes through the doors of CRDF.
Chaplain Evans was born in in East Los Angeles and grew up in Norwalk, Ca, a suburb of Los Angeles. Although she was born and raised in a middle class family, residing with both Mom and Dad, she fell into a life of drugs at the age of 13 and continued on a downward spiral until the age of 26, at which time she was saved and entered the Walter Hoving Home for Women to allow the Lord to restore her broken and shattered life. Chaplain Evans has called Calvary Chapel Downey her home since the day of her salvation, over 20 years ago, and now serves as a missionary through the church as the Senior Chaplain of Century Regional Detention Center. She received her Chaplain training through CC Downey and her field training through Senior Chaplain Holland at CRDF. Chaplain Evans currently has two daughters and two grandchildren.
Chaplain Evans has seen, and continues to see, the hand of God moving in the hearts and lives of countless women who have passed through the system. As the Senior Chaplain of the largest womens jail in the United States, Chaplain Evans realizes the grace and favor that God has poured out upon CRDF, as doors continue to be wide open for ministry. Her desire is that the message of the cross be preached in season and out of season, giving every opportunity to everyone who passes through the doors of CRDF.
