It was a rough start to life for Alan Campbell, but now he is taking that experience and using it to help others going through similar situations.

Campbell who grew up in Windsor, Ontario, did not do well with authority, whether that be his parents or his teachers, he had no interest in listening. By the time he 16 years of age, Campbell was kicked out of his house and his high school.

He took whatever money he had and bought a bus ticket to Toronto where his life took a turn for the worse. It was there that Campbell would become addicted to cocaine and get involved with the Toronto mafia. 

When Campbell was just 19 years old, he was sentenced to time in prison for assaulting someone with a deadly weapon. 

While serving 4 years in Millhaven Penitentiary on July 4, 1983, at the age of 19, Campbell accepted Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. Since that time he has stayed completely clean with a full pardon from Correctional Services of Canada. Now he has the privilege of sharing his testimony in churches and prisons across Canada. 

As he was doing this in 2002 in a Tuesday night chapel service at the Edmonton Youth Jail, a 12-year-old young man whose role models were Charles Manson and Jeffery Dalmer, accepted the Lord which was fantastic but sadly, Campbell had to leave the youth jail to fly home to London right after. Campbell was broken before the Lord because nothing was in place to see that young man completely set free by the power of the Lord. From this Refuge Ministries Canada was birthed.

Only 14% of convicted youth in Ontario convicted are in custody and Refuge Ministries Canada's mandate is to see a local church in all 30 youth custody facilities doing youth prison ministry.

Today on Connections Alan will share his story and the importance of Refuge Ministries Canada.