No one wants to end up in prison. Yet, sadly, millions of people are living behind bars. But prison isn’t the end of their story. While incarceration can feel oppressive, painful, and hopeless, I’ve also seen it be a place of hope, opportunity, recovery, and freedom.
I’ve spent most of my life serving people impacted by incarceration. Sometimes it’s been scary, but it’s always been worth it. So if you’re ready to learn how to practically care for people in prisons and their families, then this is for you.
Why Prison Ministry?
I grew up around prison. Not because I was a particularly rebellious kid, but because my dad was a prison warden. Being around prisons gave me a unique perspective on what it looks like to face incarceration.
A lot of people I know get their perspective on prison from fictional TV shows or worst-case-scenario news stories, making it easier to view people in prisons as hardened, mean, and violent. But that’s not how my dad taught me to see people in prison.
People in Prison Are Made in God’s Image
My dad always reminded me that every person matters because everyone is made in God’s image. They might be experiencing incarceration, but their identity is not “prisoner” or “criminal.” Instead, their identity is in God, who made them with worth, purpose, and value.
His view informed how he approached his role. He saw his prison as a place of healing and restoration, not of mean-spirited punishment.
My dad also knew that the greatest restoration anyone can experience is coming to know the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why he always advocated for faith-based materials and programs to support the people in his care. But his employees couldn’t run faith-based programs, so he relied on prison ministries and their faithful volunteers.
Over time, people began to notice that my dad’s prison was different. The work of faithful volunteers not only helped inmates feel more hopeful, but they actually lowered the prison’s recidivism (rate of people returning to prison after release).
Here’s Why Prison Ministry Matters
That’s why prison ministry matters—because people in prison desperately need to experience hope, love, and support. When they do, it genuinely changes their life. And it can change your life, too.
I know I wouldn’t be as compassionate, empathetic, and close to Jesus as I am today if I didn’t invest my time and care in prisons. We don’t serve in prison for personal gain, but we can’t help but become more like Jesus when we answer His call to love our neighbors.
What is Prison Ministry?
Prison ministry is simply anything we do to love our neighbors impacted by incarceration.
When we support people in prison, people transitioning out of prison, or the families of people in prison, it’s prison ministry.
Mindset for Prison Ministry
God loves all of us equally. Just because some people have made devastating choices or mistakes doesn’t mean God loves them less than you and me. So when I walk into a prison, I don’t see a bunch of less-than “criminals.” Instead, I see neighbors who I’m called to love as equals.
God never permits us to judge people. So we need to approach every interaction with humility and respect, never seeing ourselves as superior to people in prisons.
Is Prison Ministry Scary?
One year, a local prison asked me to preach an Easter message. At this point, I’d been around so many prisons that it didn’t intimidate me. That is, until I got a call from the prison telling me there would be 300 inmates present and only one guard.
My first thought was that those numbers aren’t great, and I don’t like my odds. But I showed up, and many people heard a message of hope, and some of them even said yes to Jesus.
Fear is good. It’s there to protect you. Acknowledge it. But don’t let it distract you from the fact that God has gone before you, and guards are there to protect you. Prisons want volunteers to serve, so they do absolutely everything they can to keep volunteers safe. My 300 to 1 experience was the exception, not the norm.
Any step of faith is scary. But on the other side of faith is joy. Don’t let fear rob you of the joy God wants you to receive.
How To Volunteer in Prisons
How do you start serving in prisons? Your first step is to learn more about the prisons in your area. Each one will have different opportunities available.
A great first step is reaching out to the prison chaplain (who is often the volunteer coordinator) and asking them what they need. They’ll walk you through the requirements you need to begin serving. Often, this involves training, learning what to expect, and rules for staying safe.
Another option is seeking out local or national ministries that work in prisons. I work with a group called Prison Fellowship, which operates across the United States.
Ministries build relationships with individual prisons, so they’re aware of the specific needs of the prison you’d like to support.
What Will I Actually Do in Prison Ministry?
The ministry I work with runs regular church services as well as classes that teach faith and healthy values to people in prison. The ministry creates the curriculum and makes it simple to lead classes, but they need volunteers to support their efforts.
But you don’t need to teach classes to serve in prisons. Prison ministries need people willing to do behind-the-scenes work, such as ensuring everyone has the right forms, setting up events, and maintaining relationships with prisons.
Passion + Calling
And, honestly, anything you’re passionate about can turn into a prison ministry.
I know a guy who loves training horses. He found a way to bring his horse into a prison to teach people how to train horses. Sounds random, right? But it was so fun and so different from the daily routine that it brought so much joy to the people in prison.
So don’t limit yourself. Take your passions and match them with your calling to love your neighbors in prison. When you do, you’ll see God work in surprising ways.
How to Serve People Impacted by Incarceration
People in prison have families. These parents, spouses, and children need support. Many organizations provide ways for people to help these families.
Prison Fellowship has a program called Angel Tree, which gives Christmas presents to young children of people in prison. This is impactful because the gifts come from the parents in prison, giving them dignity in the process.
I know one father who went to prison when his daughter was four. He signed up for Angel Tree, and gave his daughter a present. The gift helped the girl feel like she wasn’t forgotten by her father and allowed her father to bless his daughter with dignity. After being released four years later, his daughter’s first words to him were, “Thank you for my Christmas present!”
More Ways to Support Families
Every person’s situation is different, so no local or national ministry can meet every need. Serving families often looks like building relationships, listening to people’s stories, and asking God to show you opportunities to bless others.
There’s a good chance that there’s a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative in your church or community who’s trying to raise a child because the parent is in prison. You could offer to babysit, bring a meal, mow their lawn, or do anything else to show them that they’re loved.
Helping People Transition Out of Prison
Many people leave prison and either end up homeless or back in prison. Why? For lots of reasons. They might:
- No longer have access to the mental health support they desperately need.
- Find it almost impossible to find work.
- Not have a family who can provide housing.
- Be struggling with addiction.
- Not know how to adjust back into society.
No matter the reason, it’s a big problem that Christians everywhere can work to solve.
I know someone who got out of prison and didn’t know what to do next. He couldn’t find a job or a place to live. There’s a good chance he would have ended up homeless or back in prison if it weren’t for his local church.
They knew him because of their prison ministry, so they surrounded and supported him. The church hired him as a janitor, found him an apartment, and furnished it for him. Now, he’s experiencing a level of stability that wouldn’t have been possible without the church.
Jesus gave us the responsibility to care for everyone, even people in prisons. It’s not their responsibility to pull themselves together and figure it out on their own. It’s our responsibility to show sacrificial care, stepping out of our comfort zone to support them in their transition out of incarceration.
Find a Great Prison Ministry Organization
Several local and national organizations work to support people in this situation, and almost all need volunteer support. So look online for local opportunities, or check out Prison Fellowship or God Behind Bars to learn how you can make a difference.
The Workers Are Few
Hundreds of people found hope, dignity, and purpose through prison ministry in my dad’s prison. And that’s only one prison! Across the country, there are thousands of prisons that need faithful people who will partner in God’s restorative work.
The need for volunteers reminds me of a famous story from the life of Jesus. He had just shared a message of hope with a social outcast who went to her town to tell the community about Jesus.
Jesus and his disciples were outside the town and saw dozens, maybe even hundreds of people moving toward them. As they prepared for the crowd, Jesus told His followers:
… “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38 NIV
In my experience, the vast majority of people in prisons are eager to learn and grow. They just need someone to invest in them. The spiritual “harvest” is plentiful, but the workers are few. You don’t need a theology degree or a rough past to serve in prisons. You just need a willing heart to serve your neighbors.
I hope that today, you’ll take the first step of serving people impacted by incarceration. It might feel scary, but it’ll be worth it.