God Behind Bars Music announces the release of God Behind Bars Vol. 1: Live from Angola Prison, the first-ever live worship album recorded inside the walls of Louisiana's Angola Prison-one of America's most notorious maximum-security facilities. The project, now available on all streaming platforms, captures the voices, hearts, and hope of men serving life sentences who have encountered the redeeming presence of Jesus Christ.
"We wrote and recorded a live worship album inspired by the incarcerated inside of Angola Prison-where most of these men will serve life in prison," shares Patrick Mayberry. "We heard the stories of the prisoners, wrote songs in the prison chapel, and recorded them the next day. Worship songs usually go to the prisoners last; we wanted to give it to them first."
A few months earlier, Mayberry and other worship leaders entered Angola not simply to perform, but to listen. They sat with inmates, prayed, and wrote songs drawn from their testimonies and Scripture. One moment of profound honesty came when a man shared that after twenty-five years he had just been denied parole. In that space of sorrow and surrender, the group opened Ephesians 3:20-21:
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine... to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations."
Out of that verse came a prayer set to melody:
"All the glory, all the honor, all the praise be forever."
"Let hope rise up-faith is believing that we're gonna see it."
Recorded entirely within the prison chapel, the album features six live songs performed with inmates present:
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"Call Out to Jesus (Live)" - David Leonard & God Behind Bars Music
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"Now To Him (Live)" - Josh Aaron & God Behind Bars Music
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"My Father's Song (Live)" - Mitch Wong & God Behind Bars Music
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"Born Again (Live)" - Dwan Hill & God Behind Bars Music
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"New Life (Live)" - Patrick Mayberry & God Behind Bars Music
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"Shadow of Calvary (feat. Matt Redman) [Live]" - God Behind Bars Music
Listen now: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
God Behind Bars exists to connect inmates to Jesus and the local church. The ministry has reached more than one million inmates through worship events, digital campuses, and prison partnerships nationwide. During the Angola revival that inspired this album, over 300 men accepted Christ, and 50 were baptized right inside the prison grounds.
This record stands as a sonic testimony to that awakening-a defiant declaration that no wall is too thick, no heart too far, and no story too broken for God's hope to reach.
"Even in the darkest places, God is still writing redemption stories," says Mayberry. "When everything feels hopeless, we can lift our eyes to the One who still does immeasurably more."
