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JG JARVIS GUTHRIE MINISTER & AUTHOR
Minister · Author · Founder, Saved By Grace House

Your worst chapter doesn't have to be
your final story.

Jarvis Guthrie was handcuffed to a hospital bed at eighteen years old — his future gone in one drunken night. What happened next became a calling: prison ministry, a home for men rebuilding their lives, and now a book written to put hope in the hands of the people society is least likely to reach.

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Ordained Minister · Founder, Saved By Grace House · Author, Step Out of the Boat

[ PORTRAIT PHOTO — Jarvis Guthrie ]

“Step out of the boat. Put all your faith and trust in God.”

THE MOMENT THE BOOK WAS NAMED
COMING SOON
Step Out of the Boat
JARVIS GUTHRIE
A memoir of prison, purpose, and the leap that changes everything.
The Book

Step Out of the Boat

At eighteen, one drunken decision cost Jarvis Guthrie his future — an Army contract, a college scholarship, his freedom. This book is what he found on the other side of it: a calling he never asked for, and a faith that has since sent him back into prisons, onto death row, and into the lives of men everyone else had given up on.

“To be able to encourage that young Jarvis to step out of the boat, put all your faith and trust in God. And He's going to use you to change the lives of many, many people.”

JARVIS, ASKED WHAT HE'D TELL HIMSELF ON THE MORNING HE WOKE UP HANDCUFFED TO A HOSPITAL BED
The Mission

Every prison. Every state.

Our goal isn't just book sales — it's reach. We're working to put Step Out of the Boat into the hands of every incarcerated man in America, through chaplains, reentry programs, and the volunteers already doing this work inside the walls.

50STATES, THAT'S THE GOAL
85%RECIDIVISM WITHOUT A REASON TO CHANGE
1STORY THAT CAN INTERRUPT IT

Reserve your copy

Step Out of the Boat is in production. Enter your email and we'll let you know the moment it's available — and how you can help sponsor copies for prisons and reentry programs.

No spam — just news when the book ships and ways to get involved.

12YEARS WALKING WITH MEN COMING HOME
2014THE YEAR HE TURNED BACK
2024ORDAINED A MINISTER
3RESIDENTS AT GRACE HOUSE TODAY
The Philosophy

Three convictions behind everything he builds.

01

Grace is freely given.

You don't earn your way through the door.

02

Trust is faithfully earned.

Day by day, choice by choice.

03

Responsibility is willingly accepted.

Nobody carries it for you.

The Road Here

It isn't a theory he read about.

It's the road he walked — turned into a story other people can walk through. This is the short version. The book is the rest of it.

“Going to prison as an inmate was my greatest experience — it birthed my purpose. We are not labels of crime, but products of second chances.”

JARVIS GUTHRIE
JANUARY 21, 2012

One night, one decision

Eighteen years old, enlisted in the Army while taking college courses — and a drunken walk to the wrong house that ended with a gun in his face and handcuffs on a hospital bed by morning.

2012–2014

Incarcerated — and found

Two years in Florida State prison, three years on house arrest. Eight months in, he met the pastor — a retired police officer — who would become his spiritual father.

MAY 13, 2013

The calling

After a three-day fast, Jarvis received his call to become “an ambassador of the gospel” — the turning point Ephesians 6:19–20 still names for him today.

APRIL 2, 2014

Released — and turned back

He walked out on a Wednesday and went straight to church. Four days later, he was enrolled in college.

2021 → TODAY

Back inside, on purpose

Prison ministry at Lawtey Correctional Institution every Friday night, and death row ministry at Florida State Prison — the same seed his pastor planted in him, planted again in the next man.

TODAY

Grace House — and the book

Jarvis and his wife, Jennifer, are building Saved By Grace House together. And now, a book written to reach the men he can't visit in person.

What Jarvis Does

Five ways he lives out the calling.

Preaching & Teaching

Ordained in September 2024 — bringing the same testimony to pulpits and congregations across Jacksonville.

Prison & Reentry Ministry

Weekly ministry at Lawtey Correctional Institution, and death row ministry at Florida State Prison.

Fatherhood Advocacy

Championing fathers and supporting families impacted by the child welfare and criminal justice systems.

Mentoring Men

One-on-one walks with men rebuilding after incarceration, addiction, or a season that took everything.

Author, Step Out of the Boat

Writing the book so the message can reach further than any one visit ever could — into prison libraries nationwide.

Founder & Leader — Saved By Grace House

A Christ-centered shared living home in Jacksonville, built with his wife Jennifer, where the whole philosophy above becomes a household.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

EPHESIANS 2:8
[ PHOTO — Saved By Grace House ]
A PLACE TO REBUILD
His Flagship Ministry

A house built from the same road he walked.

Saved By Grace House is a Christ-centered shared living home in Jacksonville, Florida — a real house, on a real street, for adults who are done surviving and ready to build something that lasts. Structure, work, faith, and people who will not let them drift.

3RESIDENTS TODAY
7BEDS AT CAPACITY
~$4KLEFT TO FINISH IT
Visit Saved By Grace House → Ways to Partner
Why It's Personal

Family is the first ministry.

Above every title, Jarvis considers being a husband and father one of his greatest responsibilities. That isn't a sentiment tacked onto the end of a bio — it's why fatherhood runs through everything he does, and the standard he holds every resident of Grace House to.

He and his wife, Jennifer, are building Grace House together — the same conviction that raised their own family now shaping a household for men who need one.

[ PHOTO — Jarvis & Jennifer ]
Speaking & Ministry

Invite Jarvis into your church, program, or team.

From pulpits to prison chapels to fatherhood workshops, Jarvis brings a testimony that turns theory into something people can actually walk into — and he'll bring copies of Step Out of the Boat with him.

Second Chances & Redemption Fatherhood & Family Prison & Reentry Ministry Faith in the Storm
Request a Booking
Get In Touch

Every story here is still being written. Including yours.

Reach out about speaking engagements, prison ministry partnerships, or bringing Step Out of the Boat to your chaplaincy or reentry program.

Based in: Jacksonville, Florida

Chaplains & reentry programs

Looking to bring Step Out of the Boat into your facility or program? Use the form above and select “Ordering in bulk” — we'll follow up directly.

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