ABOUT WYMAN BRAGG

" I SHOULD BE THERE!  I should be incarcerated ... behind bars for the crimes I committed and the laws I broke.  A hellion during my youth and criminal during my early adult life.  Time after time I escaped the confines of  incarceration, and I use to question the reason I was spared.

In 1983, my life changed.  A life-altering experience allowed God's Holy Spirit to enter ... and my whole direction changed.  I began seeking the purpose for which God created me. 

In 1990, the question as to why I was spared jail and prison was answered.  It was to enter the system to carry a message of hope and purpose.  I began working with Death Row inmates in state prison.  For years these men would share their stories of how they ended up behind bars.  Some were evil men -- some were Godly men -- But all the MEN were created in God's image.    I would ask God, "Please let this life you spared make a difference to others ---realizing the whole time that it could be ME locked up.  God's Word says, " Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies." Hebrews 13:3

In 1992, I founded "Brothers Behind Bars" Prison Outreach Ministry.  I began working with prisoners with HIV and AIDS.  Hearing their cries and seeing the fear and devastation they faced.  God's Word says, " The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised . . ." Luke 4:18

After many years of working with inmates, I could see the "little boy" in these grown men.  I could see their fears and their disappointments.  I believe if given the chance, they would curl up in their mother's lap and cry themselves to sleep.  Because of this, I began looking at children in a different way.  As I would pass a group of little boys, I would see "Death Row JOE" in some of them. I could see "Adrian" in some of them.  I would CRY for the CHILDREN!!!  I asked God, "Please let me make a difference in their lives."  Very soon I began ministering to the incarcerated juveniles.  These young boys had their innocence stripped from them without even understanding what's going on.  Mistakes ... wrong training ... bad influences ... and then they end up locked away and property of the state at ages younger than ten.   I want to grab them all up in my arms, wipe away their tears and share God's everlasting love with them.  I want to help them find the right path for their lives and watch God Almighty take their horrible beginnings and turn them into a glorious life in a way that only the Creator can!!!  God's Word says, "  . . . your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. "  Matthew 18:14

"  . . . For I was hungry, and you fed me. . . `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'   Matthew 25:35-37