Sixteen-year-old Jesus is artistic. Twelve-year-old Angelina loves acting out scenes from her favorite TV shows. Ten-year-old Gabriela is a little mother hen. At almost nine years old, Martha Patricia is nurturing, and knows when someone is really hurting. Eight-year-old Emilie is a sassy little diva.
Frontlines is a video series that brings you close to the work of Prison Fellowship through the lens of Prison Fellowship Ministries CEO Jim Liske’s encounters with the inmates and families. In the latest edition, Jim relives his visit to a chaotic neighborhood where he met a brave little girl full of potential.
Frontlines is a video series that brings you close to the work of Prison Fellowship through the lens of Prison Fellowship Ministries CEO Jim Liske’s encounters with the inmates and families. In the latest edition, Jim shares what it’s like to spend Easter “in the tomb” with the lost and the forgotten – a tradition begun by Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson many years ago.
Joe Bruton knows how to welcome prisoners back into society. He has walked that road himself – twice. But his two experiences could not have looked more different. The first led to total failure, and the second to a whole new life.
Beth awakened in a sterile hospital room with a few familiar faces crowding over her.
“You’ve been in a coma for two weeks,” her parents told her. “You were in an accident on New Year’s.”
She panicked.
“Was anyone hurt?” she asked.
Frontlines is a video series that brings you close to the work of Prison Fellowship through the lens of Prison Fellowship Ministries CEO Jim Liske’s encounters with the inmates and families. In this inaugural video, Jim reflects on meeting with Jonathan, a 15-year-old boy longing for a different future.
Forget Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen. Forget Rudolph and the sleigh. These days, Santa Claus rides a Harley-Davidson – or at least that’s how he arrived at the 2012 Angel Tree Christmas party put on by Bethany First Church of the Nazarene.
When Lydia Ruano’s first husband was imprisoned for eight years, her three children were sustained by their local church and by Angel Tree®. But when Lydia’s second husband, Luis, was also locked up, she blamed God for putting her through the same trial all over again.
For inmates’ families in western Pennsylvania, Christmas is a little brighter because of God’s work through South Hills Assembly, a congregation that has been doing Angel Tree ministry for 20 years.
The Angel Tree program as South Hills Assembly started with Clarence McMillan, an elderly member who “really had a heart for prisoners,” according to Pastor Rick Kardell, who coordinates the Angel Tree program there.
It was Christmas 2011 – my dad’s last Angel Tree, though we didn’t know it at the time. Max and my dad and I shopped together for gifts – the little girl on the angel wanted a razor scooter and a pair of sneakers.
When a prisoner is locked up, the world he leaves behind does not stand still. Nor does his family. During the prisoner’s absence, roles shift, children grow, and emotional and financial hardships are endured. Even when the sentence ends, the prisoner and his family can never go back to the status quo that existed before prison, no matter how much they would like to.
If you’re new to prison ministry or have a loved one doing time, where do you turn? The average bookstore lacks a shelf devoted to “prison issues.” That’s why BreakPoint and The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview have added a new section to their online bookstore, chockfull of resources devoted to the concerns of prison ministers and prisoners’ families.
His eyes concealed behind dark sunglasses, Chris Goehner walks into a restaurant in Washington, D.C., shadowed by his service dog, Pelé. When Chris sits, the large, sunny-coated retriever curls up on top of his feet. The restaurant employees notice Pelé and assume that Chris cannot see—until they spy him typing text messages on his cell phone.
Periodically Frontlines will feature a book recommended by Prison Fellowship staff as a resource for your ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. In this issue we highlight TrueFaced, written by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and John Lynch.
Most of us have an assortment of masks we put on when we feel the need to hide our real selves.
What does it really take to keep a person from going back to prison? Let’s see. Resources that work, perhaps faith and prayers, a change in peers or environment, and, most important of all, the willingness and commitment of the offender to do what it takes to make that change.