He went to prison angry and violent. He found Christ — and a reason to go back.

Karl Schlenker knows firsthand that prisoners can change through the love of Jesus Christ, even hardened criminals facing life behind bars.

Schlenker went from a church-going husband and father of three to an inmate in an Ohio prison. He turned aggressive as both a survival method and a reflection of his personal pain, years of clinical depression, and PTSD from past trauma lurking within.

'I have instant credibility with these guys ... almost every one of them will come up and say, "You don’t come across like an inmate at all,"' he says.

His salvation came via volunteers from Kairos Prison Ministry, a nonprofit that just celebrated its 50^th anniversary. The ministry serves nearly 500 prisons and communities in 37 states and 13 countries.

Schlenker is more than just one of many prisoners touched by the ministry. He’s a committed volunteer bringing his redemption story to others.

Smelling fear

“We need to look at people in prison and see that they’re human beings,” Schlenker tells Blaze Lifestyle. He recalls his first encounter with the ministry, watching 28 volunteers enter his Ohio prison armed with cookies and an open mind.

He could smell the fear on some volunteers, likely first-timers attempting to reach those who had given up all hope.

“They had no idea what was really going to happen and how they’d be received,” he says of the new volunteers. Schlenker connected with a college professor from Ohio State, also making his first foray into the ministry’s work.

“He was a highly intelligent person with a huge heart,” he says. “He put me at ease very quickly ... I still wasn’t sure what the weekend was going to hold. I had this reputation for being a nasty kind of person.”

It didn’t happen immediately, but Schlenker eventually opened up during a long weekend of conversation, listening exercises, and prayer. Now he does the same for those incarcerated in New Hampshire, the state he currently calls home.

The hope of second chances

Kairos has taught him about forgiveness and the hope of second chances. He also brings unique experience to the task at hand.

“I have instant credibility with these guys ... almost every one of them will come up and say, ‘You don’t come across like an inmate at all,’” he says.

He previously used some of what he learned while still in that Ohio prison. He had angered several fellow inmates by using a gang member’s phone. He was approached in the bathroom by three thugs eager to punish him for what he had done. Except Schlenker didn’t defend himself.

“I will not fight you,” he told them. He was brutally beaten all the same, leaving him permanently scarred and urinating blood for days.

“I didn’t raise a fist in anger,” he recalls. Two of the three later apologized for what they had done to him. One of the attackers, a lifer, later renounced his gang ties and helped sway other inmates toward a more productive path.

“That transformation within him was unbelievably powerful,” he says. ”He was a big, strong, powerful human being, and he became a loving, tender person.”

RELATED: The day I preached Christ in jail — and everything changed

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The power of faith

Kairos Prison Ministry CEO Evelyn Lemly says the group shows the power of faith even in the worst of circumstances.

“Sometimes we think of God being so distant. He actually is so present,” Lemly says. Her work with the group reveals patterns that show the power of the volunteers’ approach.

“I hear the stories over and over and over again,” Lemly adds. “’I never felt like I was worthy. I never felt that I was lovable ... then a group of people showed up and demonstrated what the love of Jesus is all about.”

Kairos takes a spiritual big tent approach to its work.

“We don’t represent a denomination. We represent all denominations ... it’s about believing in Christ,” she says.

The Kairos Prison Ministry has a global footprint, but it’s not in every prison.

“I wish we could say every prison opened the doors for us ... there are lots of different reasons why not ... ‘We don’t have the time. We don’t have space. We don’t do programs like this,’” she says.

Schlenker says he takes a simple approach to his Kairos prison duties. He introduces himself, shows his name tag, and shares what they have in common.

“I know exactly how you’re feeling right now ... when I was in the state of Ohio as a guest, I had a number just like all of you do,” Schlenker says.

What happens next can make all the difference, a message he shares with every “guest” he meets.

“I became a different person through that experience. If you’re open and receptive and willing, the same thing will happen for every one of you,” he says.