Present Hope: In-Prison Care

“I was in prison and you came to visit me.” – Jesus
Matthew 25:36

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GREAT IDEA:
In-Prison Care & Families of Inmates

United Methodist Women’s groups in Kansas started a program at Topeka Correctional Facility that allows 40 to 50 jailed mothers [can be fathers too! :-) ] to tape themselves reading books. They send the tapes to their children as birthday gifts. Credit to United Methodist Communications.
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EVEN BETTER, purchase Hallmark recordable storybooks and have the inmate read the story to their child(ren) as a gift.
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This project would be a WONDERFUL motivator to encourage literacy education for inmates!

Opportunities for In-Prison Care

Time & Talents, Going Inside Facilities

  • Evangelism – one-on-one, cell-by-cell or in a group setting
  • Volunteer with established prison ministry
  • Simply spending time with inmates
  • Adopt a prison, through your church outreach ministry, “and partner with the chaplain in an effort to address the needs of their prison. Some of the ongoing needs include hygiene for indigent inmates, large print Bibles, Christmas bags, mentoring, interview training and Bible study leaders.” (Heartbound Ministries “Adopt a Prison”)
  • Conduct worship services inside
    • For those talented enough to play the guitar, seek permission from a local prison to bring in the instrument and sing with the inmates
  • Bible & book studies (Beth Moore, Henry Blackaby, John Eldredge)
    • Provide access to Crossroad Bible Institute Bible study series for inmates (crossroadbible.org/)
    • Purchase/Request a copy of The Captivity Series: The Key to Your Expected End, written by (self-described) ex-felon and author, Katie Souza, for an inmate. “The ultimate goal of “The Captivity Series” is to teach every prisoner how to take possession of their God created purpose through the vehicle of their captivity.”
    • Facilitate fall and/or spring Bible studies. Purchase Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God (original version), Beth Moore’s Breaking Free (original version) and other Bible studies at significantly discounted bulk pricing from Inmate Discipleship Fellowship (214-828-5347)
    • Through their chaplains, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry administers the “Bible Correspondence Course” (a curriculum developed and written by Good News) consisting of 224 individual Bible studies that inmates can utilize to gain a deeper and greater knowledge of the Bible. (www.goodnewsjail.org/Who/Who.aspx, click on “Programs”)
  • Mentoring
  • Provide life skills courses, i.e. cooking, finances (Financial Peace), job training, resume writing, GED preparation, parenting, literacy!!
    • Through their chaplains, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry offers a “Life Learning Program,” a Biblically-centered ministry program designed to teach inmates how their world and life view relates to every area of life. (www.goodnewsjail.org/Who/Who.aspx, click on “Programs”)
  • Offer art, music, poetry and writing courses
    • COMIX35 can provide in-prison comics and cartooning workshops in partnership with prison chaplains
  • Re-entry preparation
    • Prison Fellowship’s Interchange Freedom Initiative (a values-based comprehensive re-entry program, 18-24  months prior to release through 12 months after release) … If you are a representative of a Department of Corrections and want to know more about starting the IFI program in your state, please read PF’s informational brochure.  (Adobe Acrobat required)
  • Prayer with inmates
  • Volunteer with special events (Hope Shows, PF Operation Starting Line, music, films)
  • Serve as a prison chaplain

Time & Talents, From Outside of the Facilities

  • Send special toiletries, books, magazines, etc. as allowed by prison regulations
  • Prayer – adopt an inmate to pray for, pray for all inmates in a local facility, pray for a family member of friend currently serving time, pray for an organization supporting disadvantaged and at-risk youth
  • Letter writing to inmates – key to keeping inmates connected with the outside world
    • Read “Visit Prison in an Envelope,” a simple guide published by Prison Fellowship that explains how to be matched with a prisoner pen pal, how to write letters of encouragement and discipleship, and how to trouble-shoot typical problems that may arise.
    • Write a Prisoner.com – their primary goal is to reduce recidivism by encouraging positive relationships between inmates and free world citizens, must be 18 years of age or older.
  • Print copies of Prison Fellowship’s downloadable articles for prisoners and mail them to an inmate. PF’s articles address “everything from surviving prison to obtaining a college education to dealing with depression.”
  • Donating Bibles and Christ-centered books to a prison library (including faith-based fiction)
    • Biblica (formerly International Bible Society) offers a low-cost, specialized Bible for inmates, Free On The Inside, produced in partnership with Prison Fellowship.
    • Christian Library International accepts new and gently-used books for distribution to prison libraries. Large-print study Bibles and books are in great demand.

Financial Support, Providing for In-Prison Care

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