A former drug addict who broke into an Arkansas church and vandalized $100,000 worth of property was baptized at the same church six months later after the pastor and church members displayed grace and forgiveness.
23 year old Brenton Winn was arrested in February after breaking into Central Baptist Church of Conway, Arkansas, and destroying everything in sight, including laptops, cameras, and other electronics. He also wrote a racial slur on a breakroom wall and set the church’s family life center on fire.
At the time, the church’s senior pastor, Don Chandler, told KTHV it was “about as messy of vandalism as you could possibly imagine.”
Homeless and high on methamphetamine’s at the time of the break-in, Winn was angry with God after he relapsed from an addiction to methamphetamine’s despite spending time at a faith-based recovery program.
Portions of the incident were captured on surveillance cameras, and it wasn’t long before authorities caught up with the young man. Although Winn faced multiple charges as a result of the robbery, Chandler talked to the prosecutor and extended forgiveness rather than judgment.
The judge gave Winn a choice: Face up to 20 years in prison or voluntarily enter a 12-month rehab and recovery program run by a Christian-based ministry, Renewal Ranch. The young man chose the latter, and it was there that he accepted Christ.
In August – six months after his crime – Winn was baptized at Central Baptist Church, the same congregation he tried to destroy.