- Discipleship & spiritual formation
Michael Kettunen has been on both sides of the bars in the state prison in Yuma, Arizona.
He has nine felony convictions, four different prison sentences and one stretch in solitary confinement. So how did God create a second chance and renew him into a Converge chaplain?
Kettunen came to Christ and got baptized in 2000. Years later, he visited Vertical Church, a Converge Southwest congregation in Yuma. They lovingly embraced Kettunen and steadily discipled him.
“He has such a heart for ministry,” Vertical pastor Jason Taylor said. “His whole dream was always to go back to prison.”
So, the church hired him and even ordained him to help him become a Converge chaplain. Their support changed Kettunen forever and demonstrated the mighty love of our powerful God.
“There’s a lot of hope in the idea that somebody can go to prison a bunch of times and get out and work for the Department of Corrections,” Kettunen said.
Who could you proclaim second chances to?
To help others experience a transformation like his, Chaplain K, as many know him, leads a Sunday worship service. He offers Bible studies and also meets one-on-one with some of the 4800 men at the correctional facilities.
He wants people to know that what he’s experienced is available to anyone. He serves people with diverse beliefs or no beliefs at all. The identity of Jesus and the way he treated people guide Kettunen in every interaction.
“I really do try to serve as best I can,” he said. “If I’m representing Jesus well, I’m serving the people that come to me regardless of their faith.”
His genuine love and respectful posture toward the men have been well-received. Since November, he’s baptized 50 people and more than a dozen have chosen Christ as their savior.
Now, Kettunen tells the men in ASPC Yuma-Cibola that their past and present can’t prevent a better future. He’s graduated from college, which is very difficult for people with felony convictions, and works as a prison chaplain.
“I love to watch God work because he has a plan and a purpose for everything he’s doing,” Kettunen said. “It really is the time in prison that prepared me for the purpose that I have today.”
Converge currently endorses 60 chaplains for Federal chaplain ministry with the Army, Air Force, Navy, Veteran's Administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find out more about the procedures and requirements to be a Converge chaplain.
Any opinions given by Michael Kettunen are not necessarily the opinions of the State of Arizona or the Arizona Department of Corrections.
