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Prison Outreach Ministry
By Allen Hanson

"There is no rehabilitation in any jail…. Nearly one-third of the prisoners released each year in the United States return to prison within two years. It is a well established fact that true Christians almost never return to prison for any reason. This is a reality that makes all efforts to reach prisoners with the Gospel of Jesus Christ worth all the time and energy spent on it. "

MOST Christians would associate prison ministry with the high walls and guard towers of large state or federal institutions. But this is only part of the many opportunities that exist for bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are locked up. Pastors and laypeople alike often do not understand the full extent and potential of this unusual ministry because there are several different ways that we can serve our Lord in this important area of home mission work. We need to pray for prison outreach as we explore each of these opportunities.

I

We are told in Scripture to "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them" (Heb. 13:3). When we try to put ourselves in the place of the inmate or ex-convict or the family, we can better understand their special needs and minister to them more effectively. There are six facts we need to know about the justice system to help us understand prisoners and literally put ourselves in their place.

(1) The prison system is big. The United States has more people in jail on a per capita basis than any other major nation in the world, except Russia and South Africa. There are over 350,000 men and women in our nation's 600 big prisons or penitentiaries. If we add more than 150,000 prisoners in our local jails and city lock-ups, we have a total of more than half a million people incarcerated. We have forty times as many people in prison on a per capita basis as West Germany.

This may seem strange for a so-called "free" country, but here in the United States some citizens actually get into trouble because they can't accurately judge right from wrong. Complete freedom to do as they

Allen Hanson lives at Ottertail, Minnesota. He writes and lectures regularly on prison ministry and prison reform. In 1978 he served a nine-month sentence in Minnesota State Prison for "an illegal business deal."

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please is more than some of them can handle, and a few will stray over the legal limits. In order to protect individual liberties, we have an elaborate and expensive procedure for prosecuting our citizens designed to protect their civil rights. This is not the case in many foreign countries.

A friend of mine recently witnessed a fight on the street in West Germany. The German police arrived and simply fired their automatic weapons into the air, and the fight was over. There was no trial, jail, bond, plea bargaining, lawyers, or anything else. If the fight had not stopped, someone might have been shot and killed to put an end to the action, and the result would, have been pretty much the same. Very little expense is involved in the West German method of law enforcement, but we can't accept that type of direct street settlement of crimes here in the United States. We have an elaborate and sometimes cumbersome justice system that costs a great deal of money to operate, but it is necessary to protect our personal freedoms.

When you add all of the welfare and court costs along with the local, state, and federal police, together 'With thousands of jails at all levels, it becomes a very expensive method of law enforcement. The justice and prison system is the second or third largest industry in America today when all costs are counted. Prisons are very big business, and anyone caught up in it is dealing with a very large bureaucracy that doesn't change easily. Ministering to prisoners must be done within the framework of a big part of our government known as the "correctional" system that is difficult to change.

(2) Prisoners are afraid. Everything connected with the justice system has a good deal of trauma or paranoia connected with it. When anyone is arrested, put on trial, and locked up, the result is a severe emotional experience. This trauma has a lasting effect on prisoners and their loved ones who often do not understand what is really happening to them. Our very best effort to minister in prison will always be affected by this trauma. We need to recognize this natural fear when we deal with people going through the justice system in order to reach them for Jesus Christ.

(3) Inmates are usually men. There are about forty or fifty men in the penitentiary in the United States for every woman that is locked up. This ratio holds true throughout the entire prison set-up, except for the juvenile system. Women simply do not go to prison for one reason or another. They apparently don't commit as many violent crimes as men, and many feel that some judges give women lighter sentences. In any case, there are very few adult women in the nation's prison system, so the prison ministry is almost exclusively a ministry to men.

(4) Serious crimes are involved. Most inmates are in jail for very serious violations of the law. Relatives and friends tend to minimize or "play down" the seriousness of the crimes, but chaplains and trained penal officers estimate that 95% or more of all convicts are guilty of very serious offenses in spite of what the newspapers or the relatives may say.

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I happened to be in jail with a young man who served three years for stealing beer, according to his story, and when I inquired further into his crime he told me that he had stolen an entire truckload of beer. That was a serious crime, of course, but not enough to justify three years in jail, so I inquired still further into his situation, and found out that the young man had used a gun to take the truck away from the driver. So he was really guilty of a very serious offense. The young man was in jail for armed robbery in spite of his effort to minimize the seriousness of the crime.

Most men are in jail for very substantial violations of law, many committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The sad part about all this is that only one criminal in ten or twenty is caught and punished, and convicts are well aware of these facts. Right or wrong, they tend to hold these odds against the system when they get caught. They feel that society has come down hard on them and missed so many others that deserve it just as much as they do. There is no easy answer to this problem, and it is more difficult to minister to convicts because of this inequity in our justice system.

(5) Prisons don't rehabilitate. When I arrived at the penitentiary in 1978, the warden spoke to all the new inmates and told us that we were not in the penitentiary to be "rehabilitated." He told us that we were in prison to be punished. He announced that the prison had many educational, work, and treatment programs, and he suggested that we should take advantage of them. But he made it very clear that the purpose of our incarceration was "punishment" and nothing else. He was telling it like it is.

There is no rehabilitation in any jail. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives completely. The only ones rehabilitated are those that have a genuine religious experience and totally give their heart and lives to Jesus Christ.

Nearly one-third of the prisoners released each year in the United States return to prison within two years. It is a well established fact that true Christians almost never return to prison for any reason. This is a reality that makes all efforts to reach prisoners with the Gospel of Jesus Christ worth all the time and energy spent on it.

(6) The prison ministry is interdenominational. Very few prisoners have any amount of religious training, and they simply do not understand theological differences. Most of the prisoners will respond negatively to theological arguments, and ministry inside the prison wall must be totally "Christian" without denominational overtones. Chaplains are seldom identified while inside the jail with sponsoring church groups, and the Gospel stands firm and alone without the specific church differences that we are accustomed to outside the prison wall. When you enter the penitentiary to minister to prisoners, you shed the wraps of the worldly church and truly become a part of the body of Christ.

A prison sentence can be an extremely unpleasant experience, and we need to understand the trauma of arrest, trial, lock-up, and final release to be able to "put ourselves in their place" so we can better understand

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the prison opportunity. Let us pray daily for each of these ministries and learn as much about them as possible so we can be effective evangelists and carry out our mission work as faithful servants for our Lord and Savior.

II

Almost every city or large political subdivision has a local lock-up or county jail. Men and women are kept there while they wait for court hearings and many short prison sentences are actually served in these places. Often jails are old, overcrowded, and dirty. All types of prisoners can be found here from the first offender to the hardened criminal. As a result, this kind of ministry offers a special opportunity right in your own home town to reach prisoners for Jesus Christ and talk to them at a time when they are experiencing a dramatic change in their daily schedule. Lifetime decisions are often made during these first days in lock-up. The trauma of arrest and incarceration will occasionally jolt a new prisoner into a serious evaluation of former lifestyles and priorities. We have an excellent chance to influence a decision for Christ if we remember that some prisoners are kept here for only a few days. We need to go immediately, regularly, and make a positive Gospel presentation on each visit. The important factors in this ministry are prayer and regular contact at the jail. Christians everywhere need to pray for these prisoners and then see that their local lock-up has caring Christian visitors going in on a periodic basis to touch the lives of inmates regardless of the length of stay.

III

One of the most important ministries in our country is the opportunity to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to men and women in large state and federal prisons. Inmates in these institutions have been convicted of serious crimes and they desperately need Christian love and concern. Very few ministries offer a greater challenge for dedicated Christian service than this.

The key to prison ministry is prayer and the chaplain. It is very important to pray daily for prisoners and pray before each prison visit. It is also important to utilize the prison chaplain's office and the chaplain as a prison staff officer. The chaplain can help direct evangelistic efforts to achieve the maximum possible results within the social culture and security restrictions of a large penitentiary.

In order to "minister" in prison you must "visit" in prison. Our Lord regards visiting in prison so highly that we are told in Matthew 25:40 that it is the same as if we had visited our Savior personally. Jesus puts the same emphasis on prison visitations as he does on feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, and visiting the sick. We need to "visit" in prison to bring the Gospel to men and women behind the walls of a big penitentiary or prison. There are three ways to visit in prison.

First: You can write letters and correspond with prisoners. You

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should get the name and address of an inmate from the chaplain at any large prison or from an established prison service organization (names and addresses follow). Convicts are above average in intelligence but well below average in school grade level; many prisoners have a very limited letter writing ability. You don't need to leave home to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to prisoners by mail.

Second: Recent court orders have offered telephone usage to almost all prisoners, and you can talk to an inmate via telephone if you are willing to accept the phone charges. Many prisoners have no one else to talk with, and they would welcome the opportunity to visit with you by telephone. Make the initial contact through a prison chaplain, or an established prison service organization, and use the personal contact to testify to your faith in our Lord and Savior. The prisoner can respond to you and ask questions in a two-way telephone conservation.

Third: Go to the penitentiary and visit in person. The chaplain can arrange your first personal religious visit with a specific inmate and explain to you how to meet the prison's security requirements for additional visits. You may want to become a part of an inmate's permanent visiting schedule.

You can also join a religious group already going into the prison on a regular basis. It will help you get on-the-job training, and eventually you can organize your own religious group meeting inside the prison after you learn the very special needs of this unusual ministry. As you visit in prison on a one-to-one basis (or with a group), keep in mind that you are in a different environment and culture. The inmate is subject to different social pressures and security regulations than we are outside the prison wall.

Ministry in a large penitentiary provides one of the great mission opportunities still available to Christians without leaving the home country. It is like a foreign mission field with a different culture and very special entrance requirements due to security regulations. You face many of the same problems that foreign missionaries experience as you minister to inmates in a large prison or penitentiary. It is your chance to serve the Lord in a very unique way.

IV

Whenever someone is sent to prison, there is almost always a family of some kind left behind to wait. It may be a wife, parents, brother, sister, almost any close friend or relative that cares about the new inmate. These people represent an unusual opportunity for dedicated Christians to minister to the family of a prisoner while in jail. There is probably no better time in the life of the prisoner's family to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these relatives than during this critical period. They really need our love and concern. These people represent an excellent opportunity for Christian outreach, and they will be much more receptive to the Gospel than usual because of this crisis in their life.

Most of the necessities of daily life are furnished by welfare for needy

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dependent family members of any inmate. This is part of the high cost of incarceration in our society today. As Christians we can help with the special needs of the prisoner's family, like moving or automobile repair or prison transportation, but the daily necessities of life such as food, clothes, and housing are usually furnished by welfare.

The trauma and emotional effects of arrest, trial, and incarceration are shared by the inmate's family and friends. They go through the strain of lock-up and the brutal reality of the justice system with their loved one. Although they may not show it, they will be under this strain when you contact them. Relatives feel "locked up" with their loved one who is in prison, and they will continue to have this feeling to some degree until that person is released from jail. There is no way anyone can adequately explain what it is like to have a loved one in prison without going through that experience personally. We must try to put ourselves in their place and try to understand how they must feel so that we can successfully minister to a prisoner's family.

It is well to remember that marriages are under a terrible strain at this time due to the total separation of both partners. Survival of the marriage may depend on Christian understanding and concern. If the prisoner can come home to a loving and waiting family, there will a much greater chance to avoid crime and stay out of prison in the future. The prisoner's family needs the warmth and help of the local church during this critical period.

V

There are more than ten million ex-offenders in the United States. A prison term can be a terrible thing, and these ex-convicts have had a traumatic experience. They tend to distrust the justice system and society in general. They need our acceptance and understanding. Their background and prison sentence often leave a deep scar on their emotional make-up. Christian ministry to them can help overcome the trauma and paranoia caused by being locked up in prison. If they are new Christians, we need to accept them into our churches and realize that their prison experience may influence their attitude and actions for some time to come. They need our tolerance and our prayers.

Ex-convicts want to forget. They firmly believe they have paid a debt to society, and they don't need to be reminded of past failures. If we can honestly treat them as "paid in full" in the eyes of the law, we can conduct a much more successful ministry for them. It takes an exconvict at least one year, after release, to start thinking normally, and some prisoners who have been locked up for several years need three years or even more to adjust their thinking to the outside.

Prison life requires special defensive thinking for self-preservation and a "loner" attitude that fits into the inmate culture of a penitentiary. After adjusting to life inside the prison wall, it takes time to readjust to outside society because the inner person is still emotionally tuned to prison life.

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The author is an ex-convict and can personally relate to these problems and needs. No one can ever adequately explain what it is like to be locked up month after month and year after year! You must try to understand incarceration in order to minister to the ex-offender. If we recognize the prison paranoia in the new ex-offender, then we have the key to this important outreach. What is needed are Christian friends, not critics, to achieve return to daily Christian life in our society.

Each of these four ministries offers a chance to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with men and women who desperately need our love and concern. When we try to put ourselves in the place of the inmate or ex-convict and the family, we can better understand the special needs to which we can minister accordingly. Prayer is the key to success in all four of these important ministries, and Christians everywhere need to be involved and concerned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Christian's Guide to Effective Jail and Prison Ministries, by Dale K. Pace. (Revell, 1977, $12.95).

Born Again, by Charles Colson. (Revell, 1977, $2.25 paper).

After Conviction: A Review of the American System, by Ronald L. Goldfarb and Linda R. Singer. (Simon & Schuster, 1973, $19.95).

Reports on Corrections. National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice, Standards and Goals. U.S. Printing Office.

Kind and Usual Punishment: The Prison Business, by Jessica Mitford. (Random House, 1974, $2.95 paper).

The Crime of Punishment, by Karl Menninger. (Viking, 1977, $2.95 paper).

An Eye for an Eye, by H. Jack Griswold and others. (Holt, 1970, $6.95).

What Americans Should Do About Crime, by L. Harold DeWolf. (Harper and Row, 1976, $4.95 paper).

NATIONAL PRISON MINISTRIES

International Prison Ministry
Box 63
Dallas, Texas 75221.

P.S. Ministries
Campus Crusade for Christ
Arrowhead Springs
San Bernadino, California 92414.

Prison Fellowship
P. 0. Box 40562
Washington, D.C. 20016.