Gary Koly: A Life Well Lived

“Jesus Christ has changed tens of thousands of lives through the ministry of Gary Koly,” says Michael Swiger, Executive Director of True Freedom, “And I am just one of them.” Those who have met Gary Koly over the past forty years struggle to reconcile the jovial, happy-go-lucky man with the stories of his early years plagued by rampant drug use and violence. “I was a big, dumb guy who liked to punch people,” Gary would often say. When he was only 18, an altercation at a bar left one man dead and Gary with a 3-50-year sentence for manslaughter. During those impressionable years at Mansfield Correctional Institution, Gary got a first-class education in being a thug. 

In 1971 Gary met Nina. “She was as crazy as I was!” Gary often said, “We did so many drugs that we would often just black out, while still walking and talking. Everything was just totally crazy.” 

A few years after his release, Gary found himself back in prison for strong-arm robbery, a crime committed to feed a heroin addiction that followed him to prison where he came down with hepatitis from shooting drugs with a dirty needle. It was in a medical isolation cell on July 20, 1976, that Gary picked up a Bible and met Jesus Christ, and the transformation that took place rivals that of Paul on the road to Damascus. Gary said: 

“I didn’t know any fancy prayers; I just said, “Lord, I’m tired of sittin’ in these penitentiaries. I’m tired of breakin’ my parents’ hearts. I want a new life!” I’ve never been the same since that day! I stayed up for 3 days and 3 nights, like I was speeding, only I was Gary at the Northeast Reintegration Center in Cleveland confessing my sins, and talking to the Lord. I seemed to get lighter and lighter. My hepatitis was healed, and I was changed!”

The former violent alcoholic and drug addict, who had a two-pack-a-day smoking habit, never had another drink, took another drug, or smoked another cigarette for the rest of his life. Gary embodied the power of Jesus Christ to totally transform a life surrendered to Him. Released from prison in 1978, God continued to work miracles in Gary’s midst. Nina’s parents, who before hated him, saw the change and forgave him and paid for a beautiful wedding for Gary and Nina on March 3, 1979. 

In 1983 Gary entered full-time ministry, joining the staff of the Gospel House. Then in 2012 he co-founded True Freedom Ministries, an organization which has grown to become Ohio’s largest prison ministry. For thirty-seven years Gary crisscrossed Ohio bringing laughter and joy and the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to every prison in the state. He preached to hundreds of thousands of inmates, with tens of thousands making first-time professions of faith in Jesus Christ. 

Throughout the course of their marriage, Gary and Nina tried to have children. Nina had various surgeries and suffered the loss of two pregnancies. It seemed the door to having a family was closed. And, as a two-time convicted felon, Gary’s chances of becoming an adoptive father were zero. Yet, the Lord had placed a calling on Gary’s life, and He would use that calling to make a way for him. In early 1992 Gary was invited to preach in prisons all across the former Soviet Union, and, through his obedience, the Lord astonishingly opened the door for the Kolys to adopt two precious six-month-old babies from the Ukraine, Josiah and Katrina (now 28). More recently Gary and Nina were blessed to adopt their beautiful grandnieces, Tabitha and Cynthia. 

Shortly after coming to faith, the Lord inspired Gary to write a song that expressed his testimony and proclaimed the Gospel with such memorable lyrics and such a contagious melody that prisoners everywhere can instantly identify the man and the music. For nearly forty years Gary performed that song at every service he conducted, its message of hope never losing its appeal: if Jesus Christ can change a man like Gary Koly, He Can Change You! 

Gary spread joy, laughter, and the Gospel everywhere he went, with an infectious smile and a zeal for life. He pioneered modern prison ministry in Ohio, leading tens-of- thousands of prisoners to saving faith in Jesus Christ. On January 12, 2021, the Lord called Gary home and doubtlessly welcomed him with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” In the weeks, months, and years ahead, every life touched through the work of True Freedom will only be an extension of the original calling the Lord placed on Gary’s life – a life well lived.

Would you prayerfully consider making a one-time or monthly donation to continue the work that God began through Gary Koly?