by Tammy Franklin
A trip to the Capitol turns into a ministry of hope.
Tammy works for Prison Fellowship® as the director of correctional programs for the South Central region. She is grateful that God redeemed her past, and is passionate about advocating for incarcerated men and women who need hope.
I’ll never forget the time I spent advocating at the U.S. Capitol alongside my Prison Fellowship colleagues. We all settled into high-backed chairs at a big oak table. Something about that setting struck me in a profound way. I knew the Lord had not only given me a seat at the table but a voice.
ADVOCACY IS MINISTRY
People might not understand how law, policy, and government—things we associate with advocacy—intersect with ministry. Instead, they tend to think of ministry as leading a Bible study, praying for others, or delivering an Angel Tree® gift to a child with an incarcerated parent. But I’ve realized that advocacy is very much a ministry.
The Scripture that I hold onto is Proverbs 31:8–9. It tells us to speak up for those who have no voice. That's exactly what advocacy is: speaking up for the rights of the vulnerable. I’ve learned, not only in my lived experience, but also in my work with Prison Fellowship, that most people who are incarcerated were victims long before they broke any laws. They come out of poverty, addiction, dysfunction, and traumatic childhoods. So many of them have lived in survival mode all their life and then made some choices that led to their incarceration.
I spent 18 years of my life incarcerated because of crimes I committed during my drug addiction. I was caught in a cycle and couldn't seem to break free. When my incarceration journey began in the '80s, the war on drugs and punitive prison sentences were the thing.
Because of all the advocacy work that has been done, the criminal justice system is turning, but we still have a lot of work to do. Now, if a person goes to prison, there are more resources available than there used to be. We have come so far.
PELL GRANT SUCCESS STORIES
One of my favorite advocacy stories is about my first trip to Washington with our advocacy team. One of the things we were going to talk to legislators about was reinstating Pell Grants for incarcerated people.
I talked about receiving my GED diploma in prison. I was about to begin a college program with Pell Grant assistance, but the grant was discontinued for incarcerated people. With no personal resources available to cover my tuition, I was devastated. I was never able to complete my college education.
I knew other people who were affected by the legislation too, and I told lawmakers about a couple of women who had been in prison with me. Both of them grew up in poverty. One woman’s family sold drugs. Having been raised in that environment, she began to do the same thing.
Today, one of those women has a Ph.D. and is now a teacher. The other one is an attorney. Their careers got started because of an education they received in prison. But when their Pell Grants were pulled, they had to stop going to college. Local community groups stood up and provided the funds for them to complete their education. But these organizations couldn’t help every incarcerated man and woman. That’s why we advocated for change.
ADVOCATES AT THE CAPITOL
The legislation we lobbied for was passed just a few weeks after our visit to Washington. It was 26 years after the Pell Grant ban had been introduced. Because of the laws that Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team has worked on, 25% of the women who graduate from the Prison Fellowship Academy® at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma have gone back to school to get their GED diploma or work toward a college degree. They realize they can succeed when given the opportunity—and that gives them the courage to press on.
We took video recordings of our time in Washington, and we showed them in the classrooms at some of our Academy sites. The participants got to see people fighting for them, standing up for them, and giving them a voice. There were tears in the classrooms, and participants applauded because they saw they had advocates. They had not been forgotten.
The videos inspired hope in them, especially since shame often keeps people down while they’re in prison. The shame is strong, whether it is brought on by their current situation or from everything that has been thrown at them their whole lives.
So, it's personal for formerly incarcerated citizens to walk into prisons and say, “It doesn't matter what your address is. There is hope in the Lord, and there is hope for your future.”
It takes all of us working together to make sure they understand their value. People are changing laws on their behalf because they matter.
Even those who can’t go to the Capitol can make a difference, and Prison Fellowship helps Christians put their faith into action. We equip our volunteers, Justice Ambassadors, to develop relationships with lawmakers, leverage social media, and host awareness events by advocating for justice that restores.
GOD TURNED IT AROUND
Looking back at the time I walked down the halls of the Capitol, I remember us all praising the Lord saying, “I cannot believe that the Lord would take every mistake that I ever made and turn it around for His glory and our good—and that we would be able to use that to make a difference in other people's lives.”
To me, that’s ministry!
DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?
Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you'll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.
Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.
