"HOPE" Prison Ministry
Chaplain Don Watts
Founder/Director
A true sinner saved by Grace
God's loving hand has given me a perfect background to
work with those the world would sometimes like to forget.
I lived through a childhood that I would never want to see any child go through. But the loving God I serve allows my experiences to be a testimony to unloved, lost, and forgotten inmates.
At 35 years old the only thing I knew about Jesus Christ was that He was a swear word. Through some difficult cicumstances, my future wife's family took me to church for two years before I finally gave my life to Jesus.
Several years later I went off to Word Of Life Bible School to become a Chaplain and Chuck Colson offered me the opportunity to run 43 prisons for Prison Fellowship.
After leaving Prison Fellowship I founded "HOPE" Prison Ministry. I had a desire work in the local county jails, as over 72% of the people in prison in New York State are from New York City. I wanted to work with local inmates from our own communities, those whom we rub shoulders with every day.
We now minister in four counties, holding 570 Bible studies a year. I have seen over 3,000 inmates give their lives to the Lord.