Numbers hold significant meaning for Josh Neal, which is hardly surprising for a banker. However, it’s not just the dollars and cents that have shaped his journey; it’s important dates that stand out. Each of these moments – some joyful, some challenging – mark a pivotal chapter in his life.
On February 17, 2008, Josh attended a party to watch a boxing match with friends. After a chance encounter with another guest, who had recently been released from prison, he was attacked – leaving him with a broken nose, fractured orbital bone, detached retina, and an avulsed ear. Josh pressed charges and his attackers were given significant prison sentences, 20 and 15 years. “I got sprayed with mace and beaten down,” Josh recalls. “If it weren’t for one of my friends coming to my defense and pulling me off the ground, I’m not sure how the night would have ended.”
Fast forward to January 23, 2018, Josh had recently joined Arvest Bank. As is common among businesspeople, he joined the Rotary Club of Little Rock to make connections. “At the meeting that day, there were brochures on a table for a program called Pathway to Freedom. The founder, Scott McLean, was the guest speaker. It’s a faith-based rehabilitation program for those in prison, and one of the men who went to prison for attacking me was on the brochure’s cover.” A year later, Josh would see the man’s face again. “I was having dinner with my wife and friends when I noticed a familiar-looking man. The server informed me that the man had paid our tab and left. When the server told me his name, I realized it was the man who had attacked me.” Josh found that the man was a successful business owner. “I thought about calling him to say thank you, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I thought, it’s great what God has done, but I am going to leave it there.”
Then came April 3, 2023. Josh attended a men’s group meeting at Fellowship Bible Church, where Scott was presenting. “He had the same brochure from before and I thought there’s no way I’m not supposed to act on this in some fashion. God is telling me I need to be here.” That night Josh asked Scott about the man on the brochure and would tell him “I was his victim.” The following week Scott arranged a coffee meeting between Josh and his attacker. They both believe the attack ultimately changed their lives for the better. The attacker shared that, without that night, he would likely be dead, while Josh reflected on how the incident altered his own path.
Josh acknowledged that for around five years, ending in late 2005, he was caught in a destructive lifestyle that could have easily led to tragic consequences. Fortunately, he experienced a radical transformation through his faith. “That night in 2008 was one of the first nights I didn’t control my environment,” he recalls. “I was supposed to be at a fight party with a coworker in Bryant, not at this party in West Little Rock. I walked in that house and was back around all my old friends, the ones I had cut out of my life two and a half years earlier.”
Josh believes the incident was God’s way of slamming shut a door that will never reopen. For the past year, he has taught a biblical manhood class in the Pathway to Freedom program every Monday. Pathway to Freedom offers Christian principles-based educational and values-driven pre-release and reentry services to inmates and former inmates on a voluntary basis. It aims to break the cycle of crime by better preparing individuals for a successful transition back into society. Josh notes that the recidivism rate drops to 23% for those men who complete the program. The U.S. Department of Justice puts the average rate at which formerly incarcerated people are rearrested at 23% depending on the timeframe and type of offender. He says the 18-month program could use more volunteers and donations “Everyone has a story that can help others. If you can change the life of a prisoner, you’ll impact their families and communities.
Learn more about Pathway to Freedom, and how to volunteer or donate: www.ptfprison.org.