Ronald Palm knew from the onset he couldn’t walk for his graduation from Eastern Illinois University, where he earned summa cum laude honors while completing a degree in interdisciplinary studies. By then, the 30-something was already looking ahead to pursuing the bar — provided he could maneuver around the cold bars of incarceration.
Ronald is used to obstacles in his protracted path of redemption.
“Today, as a 39-year-old, he is growing into who God created him to be,” said Cynthia Massie, who has served with Cru® Inner City since 1986. Cynthia and her husband, Milton Massie, executive director of the national ministry, met Ronald as a seventh-grader who attended the S.A.Y. Yes!® Center after-school program housed at the Agape Center, the epicenter for the Chicago Inner City team.
“Ronald is smart and a born leader,” Cynthia said. “We saw his potential back then.”
Since 1979, Ronald and hundreds of children in the Roseland neighborhood have found an extended family through the Agape Center, a sanctuary from a community struggling with poverty, broken families, street violence and lost dreams. Ronald thrived in the program and the guidance it offered. Absorbing the biblical influence he found there and in the Massie home, Ronald invited Jesus into his heart. As he grew in his faith, the Chicago team had high hopes of what this redeemed life would hold. But book smarts gave way to street smarts.
“The lure of the streets engulfed him,” she said.
By age 17, he graduated from the streets to prison, where he was ordered to serve 30 years. It was a heartbreaking development for Cynthia and the Agape team.
“He has spent the last 22 years of his life in prison,” Cynthia said. “But today, he is thriving because he has placed his hope in Jesus all the way.”
The team still monitors his progress through letters he sends to the Agape Center.
“As I sit here reading my Bible, I can’t help but think about you and your mission,” Ronald wrote in 2019. “I want to say thank you for all your zeal and tireless efforts to bring Christ’s love into the lives of so many children who need it. Life in Chicago is hard, and you all serve as a safe haven for so many. I know because I was once one of those children.
‘Life in Chicago is hard, and you all serve as a safe haven for so many. I know because I was once one of those children.’
“You are planting seeds in fertile soil (Luke 8:8), although it may not seem that way at first. There will be times of turmoil in the lives of those children, and the memories of the Lord’s love that have been bestowed upon them will be the source of strength that helps them prevail.”
He went on to say that as he considers how he can be useful to Jesus in this season of life, he is “inspired by the story of Paul, who helped many people from a prison cell.”
Ronald’s recommitment to Christianity has provided great hope to the Agape team.
“He is growing in his faith and has led Bible studies for other inmates,” Cynthia said.
He began studying other books, too, after being accepted into the Education Justice Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. That culminated with his 2023 graduation from EIU.
Ronald wasn’t finished with his pursuit to better himself, so he applied to pursue a law degree at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in the Twin Cities. The program, believed to be the first in the United States to offer law school access to inmates, is made possible through The Legal Revolution’s Prison to Law Pipeline initiative, according to a Charlotte West article on WBEZ Chicago.
In order to enroll, Ronald needed to secure a rare transfer from the Illinois Department of Corrections to its Minnesota counterpart. It was approved, and Ronald was moved to Minnesota Correctional Facility — Faribault, where he was issued a tablet to do live remote classes and communicate with his professors.
“He told us that he does not want to neglect his study of God’s word for the study of man’s law,” Cynthia said.
‘He told us that he does not want to neglect his study of God’s word for the study of man’s law.’
According to reporter West, Ronald could be eligible for work release in five years. His ability to become licensed depends on state law, which varies by jurisdiction.
Palm told West he believes former inmates have a unique perspective that could benefit the legal system.
“A lot of the time, we are portrayed as people who are just beyond redemption. But the truth is that some of us just [weren’t] given the chance to excel,” he told her.
‘A lot of the time, we are portrayed as people who are just beyond redemption. But the truth is that some of us just [weren’t] given the chance to excel.’
Ronald’s journey has been a consistent reminder to the Chicago team that the Bible lessons, Scripture memorization, mentoring and tutoring offered by S.A.Y. Yes! centers nationwide can transcend setbacks.
“To say that we’re proud of him is an understatement,” Cynthia said.
The respect is mutual as Ronald reminded them of the transformative influence they have on the neighborhood, even in the midst of trials.
“You all are the Lord’s vessels, and it is important work that you all are doing.”
Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
