What is prison ministry? How do you implement it? How do you get your church passionate about such a ministry?
Those and other questions were addressed during workshops during the second Prison Ministries Conference, sponsored by the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC). Approximately 350 people attended the conference Sept. 28–29 at Cathedral of the Cross Church in Birmingham.
One of the key elements for a successful prison ministry, according to Edward Hardison, deputy commissioner with the Alabama DOC, is a focus on what prison ministries should strive to accomplish.
“The focus of Alabama prison ministries is not difficult,” Hardison said. “It’s one that’s implicit.”
In the past, Hardison said pastors would simply visit prisons, preach and a few inmates would be saved. But he said simply preaching to inmates is not enough if prison ministries are to keep them from returning to prison and to get them to implement true changes in their lives.
Hardison addressed areas of focus for prison ministry:
- Prevention, which he said concentrates on asking what has to be done to keep men and women from committing crime and coming to prison, along with what has to be done to keep them from returning to prison.
Hardison said 90 percent of inmates in Alabama’s prisons are eventually released. He followed that statistic with one indicating the state has a recidivism (return) rate of 60 percent.
“We want to cut down on the recidivism rate,” he said. “We have guys that stay awhile, leave and then they come back.”
Hardison said more needs to be done by churches through ministering to former inmates and thus helping them turn away from crime.
“Everything comes down to collaboration with the local church,” he said.
- Intervention. Hardison identified intercession as the key to changing the lives of men and women in prison. He said the church has to ask how it did not keep people in its community from going to jail the first time, along with why some of them return.
- Reconciliation. Hardison said this involves doing the things necessary to get former inmates to forget their past and make a new future. Additionally, reconciliation involves helping those who have been incarcerated to reconcile themselves with God and man.
- Restoration, which he said addresses what has to be done to return prisoners to society. Prison ministries and local churches are the key to helping former prisoners reintegrate themselves into society, said Hardison.
Volunteers are an important aspect of making sure prison ministry is implemented, said Kent Lucas, emphasizing the need for recruiting and keeping quality volunteers.
Lucas, associate director of Bill Glass Prison Ministries, said churches involved with prison ministries should make sure they have a game plan — one that is well defined in terms of what the ministry hopes to accomplish and also is articulated to members.
“Be specific with what you want them to do,” Lucas said.
He also identified listening to volunteers as important.
Those leading prison ministries should be confident in what they are doing and get feedback from their teams, he noted. Evaluate their performance and analyze what are the high and low points of the ministry.
Affirmation is also important in keeping volunteers with prison ministry effective, Lucas added, noting they should be given praise and encouragement by their churches on a regular basis.
“People who volunteer their time, that is all the pay they get on earth,” he said.
Lucas said churches can praise volunteers by recognizing them during worship services. He also suggested banquets for volunteers who work in the church’s prison ministries.
“Look for ways to reward them,” he said.
It is also important for a church to identify its purpose in prison ministry, said Gil Franks, pastor of Word of Life Church in Birmingham.
Franks said prison ministries involve many aspects, including preaching, teaching, mentoring and helping inmates once they are released.
“You need to decide what is your purpose in prison ministry,” he said. Franks said it is also important that those who want to minister to prisoners are part of a church that believes in and will support the ministry.
For information on prison ministry, contact Ray Baker at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, 1-800-264-1225.Developing better fathers goal of new ministry program
Alabama is one of four states selected to develop a program to help incarcerated men become better fathers.
Randall Turner, vice president of state and local initiatives with the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) in Gaithersburg, Md., said Alabama has received funding from the U.S. Justice Department for the training and implementation of the program. Turner made the announcement during a workshop called “Developing an Incarcerated Fathers Program” as part of the second Alabama Prison Ministry Conference Sept. 28–29 at Cathedral of the Cross church in Birmingham.
Texas, Indiana and Wisconsin have also been chosen for the program.
Turner said training is important in implementing the program. “The key thing is consistency and making sure each prison is running the same program,” he said.
Discussing the importance of supportive fathers, he said children with parents who are involved in their lives have higher self-esteem, make better grades and have better cognitive skills even as infants.
Turner added that children with supportive fathers also have lower levels of drug and alcohol abuse. “Men being in prison is one of the greatest father absences,” Turner said. “We want to reverse that.”
Turner said the program is designed to be facilitated by trained peer leaders in 12 weekly sessions in a small group format. The primary issues that are addressed:
- Having the inmate recognize and describe what he sees as positive family values;
- Having the inmate demonstrate an increased knowledge of parenting/family skills;
- Having the inmate identify realistic strategies for connecting with their families through increased contact as allowed;
- Having the inmate identify realistic strategies for fulfilling their responsibilities as fathers while confined and upon release;
- Helping inmates identify and describe the effects their behavior has on their families;
- Assisting inmates in the development of a “viable family integration plan;”
- Helping inmates identify and utilize positive skills for dealing with issues of loss, shame and guilt;
- Assuring inmates now how to communicate to their children the negative effects of incarceration, without glorifying any aspect of being an inmate or former convict.
Pryor: Christ is the answer for inmates
Changing prison inmates for life requires a Christian touch, said Attorney General Bill Pryor during the second Prison Ministries Conference Sept. 28–29 at Cathedral of the Cross Church in Birmingham.
Noting that his office is firmly committed to the work being accomplished through prison ministries across the state, Pryor said keeping inmates out of prison can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ.
“Unless we change the heart, we’re going to fail,” Pryor said. “There’s only one thing that’s going to change those hearts — that’s the peace and love of Jesus Christ.”
Pryor said it may try, but the American Civil Liberties Union will never be able to stop prison ministries because the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
“We’ve given you the freedom to do God’s work,” Pryor said. “I challenge you now to get it done.”
The attorney general said a Christian perspective supports punishing those who break the law but also believes in helping them.
State program helps crime victims heal
Crime victims will soon get to meet their offenders face-to- face if they so desire. This new program in Alabama is planned by the State Department of Corrections (DOC).
Janet Findley, victim services officer with the DOC, said the new Victim Offender Mediation Program gives victims the opportunity to meet offenders as part of the victims’ recovery.
Findley outlined the program during the second Prison Ministry Conference held by the DOC Sept. 28–29 at the Cathedral of the Cross church in Birmingham.
She said the state plans to begin training mediators in the next few weeks, with the first mediations early in 2002. Findley said the DOC hopes to have 20 mediations during the first year of the program, which was initiated by Gov. Don Siegelman, Attorney General Bill Pryor and Commissioner of Prisons Mike Haley.
Findley said the meetings between victims and offenders have to be initiated by offenders. Additionally, offenders must admit their guilt prior to the meetings. She said no special incentives will be offered to offenders who participate in the program.
“The offender is not going to get any favors out of this, such as early parole,” Findley said.
But she believes meeting with the victims may help in the rehabilitation of inmates who are remorseful. “We feel like the offender is going to gain some self-respect by going through this,” she said. Findley said the meetings will help offenders see their victims as real people. She also believes the meetings will help victims come to as much closure as possible, noting “some will never be over it.”
Addressing implementation of the mediation process, Findley said victims request to participate and must fill out an application and detailed questionnaire. Once a mediator has met with the victim and assessed whether mediation would be appropriate, offenders are contacted and interviewed by mediators about their willingness to participate.
Findley said the subsequent meetings will allow victims to express their feelings of fear, anxiety and anger.
Tim Beck, a workshop leader at the conference, said prison ministries should help inmates identify “the core issues that got them off track to put them behind bars in the first place.”
“It’s that wrestling that can bring deliverance to people that they might not get any other way,” said Beck, director of national ministries with Cleansing Stream Ministries in Chatsworth, Calif.
Findley said mediators are needed throughout the state. For information on the Victim Offender Mediation Program, contact Findley at 334-353-3883.
Haley says not everyone is called to prison ministry
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Michael Haley wants to “keep out the nuts” in the state prison system. And he is not talking about the inmates. He means prison ministry volunteers.
Leading the “How to Keep Out the Nuts” workshop during the second Alabama Prison Ministry Conference Sept. 28–29 in Birmingham, Haley delivered a blunt message for those interested in prison ministry for the wrong reasons.
“There are people that are wanting to be a part of what you’re doing and sometimes these folks that want to go in don’t need to be in,” Haley said.
“Some might say (keeping out the wrong people) is something that applies just to wardens, but it doesn’t,” he explained. “It does apply to wardens, but it doesn’t apply only to wardens and it doesn’t apply only to chaplains — it does apply to everyone who is involved in prison ministry.”
Haley said some individuals don’t have “the right motive” or proper agenda. “And these folks should not be coming in.”
Such individuals do “more harm than good,” Haley said.
“They have their own agenda and tend to bring confusion, even though they come in the name of God,” he noted. “While they may be motivated for some cause, they’re not necessarily motivated for ministry.”
Haley said it is fine for individuals to believe in a cause, but they should not go into jails under the guise of prison ministries to promote their beliefs.
“They call me all the time and they may have a good cause,” Haley said. “Maybe they’re anti-death penalty — that’s fine.” Or they may support a host of other issues from favoring early paroles or being against early paroles.”
Haley referred to such individuals as “reformers.”
“If you’ve got folks that are wanting to come in with you that have some cause other than the cause of Christ as their primary reason, then don’t be afraid to say no,” Haley said. “Don’t be afraid to keep them out.”
“Self-gratifiers” are others who do not belong in prison ministry, Haley said. “These are the zoo crew, because they really just want to come in and look.”
He described such individuals as the ones who want to see what the prisons look like and talk to prisoners, simply out of curiosity.
“Please don’t come to my prison if that’s your motivation,” Haley said.
“If that’s your motivation, then please stay home. We don’t need you and we don’t want you, because you’re going to create confusion.”
Along with avoiding reformers with a cause and self-gratifiers, Haley said “the gunfighters” also harm prison ministry efforts.
Those individuals are obsessed with how many individuals “they” save and enjoy bragging about their efforts.
“Big deal,” Haley said. “Who cares how many you got saved, because, brother, you didn’t get anybody saved.
“They’re the gunfighters, they’re always interested in putting more notches on their gun so they can go out and tell you what wonderful work they’re doing in the prisons,” he said.
Again, Haley said, “Stay home. We don’t need you, we don’t want you.”
He said “the gunfighters” seek glory for themselves and not the Lord.
“They’re usually just a flash in the pan,” Haley noted. “They come in, they do their big thing and then they ride off in the sunset and you never see them again.”
Most of the time, Haley said “the gunfighters” want to work outside the authority of the prison chaplain.
Other groups not welcomed by Haley include those interested in teaching prisoners gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and those who do not represent anyone.
Those interested in teaching gifts go against the purpose of prison ministry, Haley said. “Their interest is on the gift and not the giver,” he noted. “The emphasis in prison ministries is on God as the giver.”
As far as those who don’t represent anyone, “these are very independent person, sometimes they tend to be very arrogant persons,” Haley said.
“They don’t represent or participate with any particular domination or any particular church and they are under no authority because they do not submit to authority at all,” he added.
Those individuals, Haley said, are determined to do prison ministry their own way and often view prison officials as the enemy.
Haley offered several suggestions for keeping the wrong people out of prison ministry, including screening volunteers.
“Find out who they really are,” he said. “Who do they represent? What’s their track record?”
Individuals’ motives for wanting to work in prison ministry should also be scrutinized. “Find out if they’re telling you the truth,” he said.
Training is also important in making sure the right workers are used.
“Train them into the institutional rules and regulations of where you’re going,” Haley said.
Carlin shares insights on prison work
Paul Carlin knows prison ministries. For 25 years, Carlin, a retired prison chaplain, shared with prison inmates in Texas the difference Christ can make in their lives.
And during the second Alabama Prison Ministry Conference Sept. 28–29 at the Cathedral of the Cross church in Birmingham, Carlin shared his insights on prison ministries.
Carlin said when he first began his ministry with prisoners many of his friends called it a waste of time. Similarly, he said many churches believe putting money into prison ministries is a waste.
But, in an often tearful testimony, Carlin shared success stories and encouraged those involved in prison ministry.
“For 25 years, my wife and I have been going into citadels of sin,” he said, noting the facilities they visited looked and smelled like prisons. But when praise broke out, “the whole place is filled with the gratitude of love.”
One inmate Carlin worked with for seven years is now married and has a home and a thriving business. “He’s on his way to becoming a rich man,” Carlin said.
Another inmate, who is now out of prison, and his wife make Christ a priority in their lives, Carlin noted. “They even have a prayer room in their home.”
It is those testimonies Carlin said individuals involved with prison ministry should remember when confronted by skeptics.
“How could anyone tell me, ‘You wasted your time?’” Carlin asked. “Don’t ever think it doesn’t count,” he said. “It’s not a waste as long as it’s done through Jesus.
“The Bible teaches that there is something that precedes thought and precedes feeling and precedes behavior,” Carlin said. “And that something is what a person actually believes.”
“In order for people to change, you do not work on their behavior, you do not work on what they think. According to the Word of God, you work on what they believe,” he said.
The veteran of prison ministry argued against other methods that attempt to rehabilitate prisoners.
Carlin said secular humanists espouse the belief that for prisoners to change, they have to alter their behavior. “There is a method for doing that, it’s called behavior modification,” he said.
The problem with that theory, Carlin said, is that the studies were done using animals. He added another problem with behavior modification is that it is often not permanent.
“Folks, let me tell you something, what’s wrong with that is anybody can change for a little while — anybody,” he said.
Another theory that he said falls short is working on inmates’ feelings. Carlin said psychologists believe that by expressing negative and suppressed feelings, people can deal with what is hurting them.
“And those feelings need to be changed, need transformed and you are the only who can change on those feelings,” Carlin said. “That may be a legitimate scientific approach, but it is not biblical.”
But what an individual believes, with prison ministries striving to implement a biblical view, is what Carlin said sets them free.
“In building and developing prisoners of hope, we don’t concentrate on how they feel or how they’re doing, but what they believe.”
Fund raising said crucial to prison ministries
Prison ministry takes money, time and sacrifice, said Paul Carlin, a retired prison chaplain from Texas. Sharing his thoughts during the second Alabama Prison Ministry Conference Sept. 28–29 at the Cathedral of the Cross church in Birmingham, Carlin said relationships are key in developing a prison ministry.
It is crucial for those who want to establish a prison ministry outside of their own church to develop relationships with pastors and local churches in the area, Carlin explained.
He said pastors can motivate their churches in raising money for literature and other resources used in prison ministry.
“You’re not going to raise any money in prison, you’re not going to raise any money from chaplains,” Carlin said. “The money is going to have to come from Christians who are concerned.”
The best place to find those people who are concerned, Carlin said, is in the church.
“Once they develop an interest in you and in your ministry, then they will begin to give. When people begin to put money into your ministry, then their hearts will get in the ministry. Then they will give more and participate,” Carlin said.
“The pastor has to take the lead and you establish a relationship with that pastor and he will help you establish a relationship with people who have an interest in prison ministry,” Carlin said. “A lot of pastors, they’re not involved in prison ministry because they don’t know how and they don’t know the opportunities. Prisons are a missions field and they don’t understand the workings of that missions field,” he said.
Carlin suggested individuals who want to begin a prison ministry have pastors of their local churches accompany them to prisons.
“Once they get in and once they see the need, then the pastors will begin to help you generate support for your ministry,” he said.
Carlin also suggested writing a newsletter to keep supporters informed and to solicit contributions.
“The newsletter has to go out, it must be mailed every month,” Carlin said. He said the newsletter should include a reply envelope for contributions.
Share with others: