Among the challenges facing many of the men and women returning from prison is finding a faith community where they will be welcomed, supported, and encouraged as they learn to adapt to life outside prison walls.
The Rev. Dr. Chappell Temple, pastor at Christ Methodist Church in Sugarland, Texas, has partnered with Prison Fellowship in serving the incarcerated in his community. “John Wesley, who founded the United Methodist Church, began by going into the prisons every week,” says Pastor Temple, “and we’ve found that is part of our vitality as well.” He notes that members of the church regularly visit prisoners, offering a number of different Bible studies.
Mike, one of those men attending those in-prison Bible studies, recently became a part of their church family, joining the staff at Christ United Methodist Church. “Mike is now a very welcome person at this church. He greets everyone by name and they all know him,” says Pastor Temple. “He now comes to us and not just as a former inmate, as a former prisoner, or even just as a staff member—he comes to us as a brother in Christ. It is a joy to see him finding his new life in this church and he’s brought new life to this church.”
Across the country, men and women—brothers and sisters in Christ—are being released from prison, and are looking for people and churches who can help them navigate what for many of them is a new and foreign world. They seek physical aid and support, as well as the emotional and spiritual aid that only the Body of Christ can provide. To learn more about Prison Fellowship’s reentry programs, and how you and your church can get involved, click here.
