Prison ministry advocates encourage Christians to befriend incarcerated

Prison ministry advocates encourage Christians to befriend incarcerated

By Martha Simmons
Correspondent, The Alabama Baptist

It was a curious statement. “The unsaved are not a project,” asserted a devotional in the Correctional Ministries and Chaplains Association’s monthly e-newsletter. This was directed not only to those involved in prison ministry, but also to disciples and unbelievers in the free world.

“I think there are often two errors we make when engaging with unbelievers,” said Karen Swanson, director of the Billy Graham Center’s Institute for Prison Ministries at Wheaton College. “There are times when we befriend unbelievers with the goal of sharing Christ and when they don’t want to hear about Christ, we quit being their friend or we are friends with unbelievers and never share Christ.

“Both showing and sharing the love of Christ is needed when we reach out to those in our sphere of influence who don’t know Christ,” Swanson said.

Don Metzler, president of the We Care Program, which ministers to prisoners throughout Alabama, agreed.

Loving people

“When we approach ministry with the mindset that we need to see results we tend to look at it more as a project versus loving people,” he said. “For those who have the privilege of working with the incarcerated or formerly incarcerated it is even easier to see such people as a project partly because of the space in which they are confined.

“Obviously, this applies primarily to those currently in prison,” he said. “However, society confines even formerly incarcerated persons to a particular place, so to speak, because of all the limitations and stigma associated with their record. Whether these places are physical or perception-based it can become too easy to minister to someone and then leave when our ministry time is done.

“This leads to more of a project-based ministry unless we intentionally work to overcome that mindset by seeing each one of these men and women as someone created in God’s image. “I think Christians often don’t realize that Jesus is already in prisons,” Swanson said. “There is a body of believers in every prison — this includes both the incarcerated and corrections staff.”

Many in the free world are just as imprisoned by unbelief as those who spend their days behind iron bars.

Lifestyle of ministry

“I believe it would benefit us and those we serve if we work to live a lifestyle of ministry instead of thinking ministry is something we need to ‘go and do,’ ” Swanson said. “This might mean showing love to the person working at the gas station or grocery store, giving an encouraging word to someone we see at work who is struggling or numerous other ways that we can be Jesus with skin on to those we meet every day.”

Thinking beyond the bars is especially important in Alabama, which in 2014 had the third-highest rate of incarceration in the United States. That means the influence of crime and punishment extend far beyond the boundaries defined by concrete walls and razor wire.

Get involved

“There are many needs of those impacted by crime — the incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, their families and children, victims, etc.,” Swanson said. “Each group has many needs which can be met by lay people. Often, the needs of the non-incarcerated — helping people transition from incarceration and needs of their families and victims — go unmet.”

How can Christians from all walks of life — not just ministers or chaplains — better serve the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated?

“I suggest starting within your own congregation. Are there individuals, families who have been impacted by crime? What are their needs?” Swanson said. “Be a welcoming church to those who have been incarcerated — not adding to their shame. Not just welcoming, but a place they feel they belong. Help them assimilate, serve and grow in their faith.

“Then focus on those in your community. Is there a jail? What is needed at the jail? What is needed to help individuals transition back into society? Are there ways to help invest in children to keep them out of the prison pipeline? There is also advocacy, which needs to be done to help our legal system become just. You may want to find out what is available in your community and what is needed to meet the needs of those impacted by crime,” Swanson said.

Christians who feel called to work directly with prisoners have a number of options to get started.

“For those who want to serve the incarcerated, contact the chaplain or religious program coordinator to see what is needed,” Swanson advised. “Don’t go in with an agenda. Get trained. Serving inside a correctional facility is a cross-cultural ministry.”

In Alabama, We Care hosts a number of annual events inviting those interested in prison ministry to participate in short-term outreaches, Metzler said.

For those ready for a full-fledged commitment, We Care has numerous openings for full-time chaplains, who are not required to have a ministerial degree, Metzler said. We Care also sponsors a nine-month internship for young adults starting each fall.

Reality of ‘second prison’

Another way to get involved is the annual Read-a-Thon, a summertime fundraiser in which participants read and solicit sponsors, competing for prizes and raising funds for We Care.

However one chooses to become involved, it is critical that churches understand that the problems associated with incarceration are not locked up behind the bars of the state prison or local jail.

“The reality is that the majority of those currently serving time will one day leave prison. The question becomes, ‘What then?’” Metzler said.

“Unfortunately in this country a person who has ended a prison sentence then faces what is known as a second prison due to the 48,000 legal barriers that go into effect,” Metzler said. “This could be anything related to housing, jobs, places they are allowed to go or countless other aspects of life that are now governed.

“The family of God can play a huge part in assisting and walking alongside men and women after they are released from prison,” Metzler said.

“Through our love and care and helping formerly incarcerated individuals to navigate the challenges they face, we as the body of Christ can change the direction of a life, which can impact a family, a community, a town, a city, a state, a country and even the world.”