Streetwise Prison Ministry

Every year thousands of religious individuals and groups of all faiths volunteer to enter into jails and prisons to bring hope to the incarcerated. But while their intention is honorable, many of these volunteers run into the reality of a highly dysfunctional, complicated and often volatile environment hostile by it’s nature to those efforts. Jail and prison ministry is not just about bringing the gospel of deliverance to the inmates through religious programming and spiritual counseling. Wise ministry comes from knowing the dynamics of the mission field which is often filled with the condensed darkness of human suffering and evil and many wolf traps. Effective jail and prison ministry requires the religious volunteer to have an awareness of the inner nuances of that environment. A study of inmate religious games, security issues that affect civilians entering to minister, as well as their own personal perceptions of ministry in a secular environment, is part of being fully equipped for that mission. Jail and prison ministry is not for the naïve in matters that may sabotage or weaken the intended purpose of those religious volunteers who seek to bring the hope of the gospel into the dark places that are our jails and prisons.