“This is the one day a year we all feel we’re not held behind bars!” the prison administrator exclaimed.
He was referencing the annual Christmas prison outreach International Christian Fellowship (ICF) Dakar sponsors with Alliance team members in that city. This year, concerts were held in three prisons and featured Cissa, a popular Senegalese Christian singer.
Madame Ndeye, a Senegalese ministry colleague, helped obtain permission to hold the concerts in two women’s prisons and a juvenile prison for boys ages 12 to 18. Each inmate also received a full meal and a gift bag.
“We do this outreach each year, and for me this was the best year yet,” said Stephen*, who serves with Alliance Compassion and Mercy Associates and is an Alliance Dakar team leader. He is also the interim pastor at ICF, which several Alliance team members attend. The congregation generously covered the costs of the concert, including providing the meals and gift bags.
Unique Opportunity to Share the Gospel
Concert attendees acknowledged Cissa’s talent for connecting with his audience. “In each prison, he had the inmates glued to him within seconds,” Stephen recalled. “He has a way of engaging his audience, allowing them to participate in the singing and dancing—it was beautiful to see and experience!”
Between songs, Cissa explained their meaning. “In the boys’ prison, he urged the inmates to treat girls with the same respect that they have for their mothers. He also invited them to seek God with all their hearts and to put their trust in Jesus,” said Jan, an Alliance Dakar team member.
Jan partners with Cissa to fulfill their mutually passionate calling—expand Christian music’s influence in spreading the good news across Senegal.
“Cissa was able to do what we can’t do during our visits to the boys’ prison: share the gospel of Jesus,” Stephen observed. “He told the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32) and then sang about it.”
Reduced Stress Levels
“You don’t know what this does to the environment here!” the boys’ prison administrator exclaimed. “For the next several weeks the stress level will be significantly down—the boys have enjoyed themselves, experiencing things they almost never get to experience.”
After each year’s outreach event, Madam Ndeye has private, follow-up conversations with the female inmates. “I just had a meeting with her,” Stephen noted. “She said one woman was weeping openly at this year’s concert when she heard the good news of Jesus.”
“It is a miracle that we have so much freedom to minister in the prisons,” Jan observed. “But we seize every opportunity to bring the Christmas message through music—as long as the doors are open!”
*Name changed
Learn More
Read “From Shame to Hope,” an Alliance Life article that contains additional information about the partnership between Ndeye and Alliance workers in Dakar to reach local inmates with the good news.
Watch “A Voice for Truth” (3:30), in which Cissa shares how he left a promiscuous lifestyle to commit his life and musical talents to Jesus.