LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Michael Johninson was raised in the church. He would always attend services each Sunday -- this was just the norm for him.
Early morning services and then services on Sunday night. The ways of the Lord were his as he navigated the ins and the outs of the church.
This remained his life until he became an adult, where the pressures of making a living disgruntled the foundation of his day-to-day lifestyle.
This coming of age led Johninson to some dark times.
It turned him away from his religious upbringing, molding him instead into a user and an abuser.
This trajectory continued until Johninson eventually found himself as a convict.
The entire time he was incarcerated, he made a vow that grew stronger every day that he walked the yard: he would turn back to the foundation that had been instilled in him when he was growing up.
This vow would prove to change his life for the better, as he was able to make a complete 180.
He was so successful in doing so that he now uses his life as a resource to help others who have been incarcerated.
His method can be summed up in three words: “Find the Lord.”
This is why his organization is called “Compassion In Action.”
His clients are never berated or belittled. Instead, they are always treated with dignity with eyes only on the future.
This is because the mistakes are teachers and they are not a man’s destiny.