What is the appropriate Christian response to the challenges facing the criminal justice system in the United States? While many Christians know the biblical mandates to “seek justice” and to “remember those in prison,” they are often unsure how to live out those values in real and tangible ways.
A new small group curriculum developed by Prison Fellowship seeks to answer this and other questions, exploring our shared values and how those values can be applied to issues surrounding crime and incarceration. Outrageous Justice, a six-session video-based study, seeks to awaken Christians to the need for “justice that restores.” Also included is a companion book written by Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team that looks deeper into these issues, adding history and perspective to matters of crime, incarceration, prison ministry, and criminal justice reform.
Individuals with different perspectives of the corrections system—from former prisoners and victims of crime to prison officials and others impacted by crime and incarceration—share their stories and the hope that restoration is indeed possible.
Right now, there are 2.2 million men and women who are incarcerated in the United States. Every year, 650,000 of those prisoners are released into communities across the country. Without dealing with the root causes of crime, or attempting to remove the barriers that keep people with criminal records from becoming productive members of society, the cycle of crime is perpetuated, and hope is lost. For Christians, the solution begins when we acknowledge the God-given value of every life, and recognize that no person is beyond His redemptive power.
To learn more about the Outrageous Justice, and how you and your church’s small group can be a part of the pilot program for the study, visit www.prisonfellowship.org/outrageousjustice. Materials are free to those participating in the pilot program, but quantities are limited, so act fast.