PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Reentry

Emily is leaving Shakopee for the world outside, and it's a lot to process.

We live in a broken society, but the Church is uniquely positioned to have a profound and lasting impact on the surrounding culture.

Tish Belk was scared. She had been on the run for almost a year, and now she faced as many as 20 years in prison.

Your incarcerated loved one is getting out of prison. This is what you've been waiting for. This is why you've run for second chances, signed petitions, and shared your family's story.

So how do you prepare for your loved one's reentry?

The Book of Philemon is too often overlooked when reading through the New Testament. At a mere 25 verses long, the short letter by the Apostle Paul to a wealthy leader of the Church in Colossae is easy to flip past when searching for Hebrews, James, or Revelation. Those who do take the time to read the epistle, however, will be treated to a valuable lesson about Christian love, forgiveness, and the importance of restoration.

The following post was adapted from an article published in the Winter 2013 edition of Inside Journal. Inside Journal is a quarterly newspaper published by Prison Fellowship® just for prisoners. 

Part II in Prison Fellowship's Mentoring Prisoners series: Check out these 3 important questions for mentors. Would you make a good mentor?

Do you want to help prisoners and former prisoners thrive? Read Part One of our Mentoring Prisoners series to learn how to be a good mentor to prisoners.

“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”  

Colossians 1:28 (NIV)  

Prison ministry, like all ministries, is not a single event but a process. The Church is called to make disciples, not simply converts.

There is a transformative power in good literature. A book can transport us to faraway places and introduce us to characters from different times and eras. It can rouse the emotions, challenge perceptions, and engage the mind in ways that few things can.

Ever wonder what life is like for someone with a criminal record?

A new quiz on the Marshall Project website gives readers an opportunity to see how much they know about the hurdles that face men and women who have committed crimes.

“Justice that restores. What does that mean?  Who are we restoring? Where are we restoring them to?”

Prison Fellowship President and CEO James Ackerman asks these questions to a recent gathering of volunteers in Tampa, Florida. The answer, he suggests, can be found in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Learn to do right.

When Dr. James Gilligan started work as a prison psychiatrist in a medium-security facility in Massachusetts, he took with him a pre-formed perspective on the men he would be treating.

“I had been taught up to that point that violent criminals were untreatable sociopaths, that they would manipulate you,” he remembers.