The Christian Inmate 

Of the 4, 322 prisoners released in the year 2000, there is a significant group who were active Christians at the time of their imprisonment, or who became Christians while in prison. Faith has proven to be an important factor in effecting change in the lives of those who desire to desist from a lifestyle of crime. The growing body of evidence demonstrates the impact of faith on reoffending. In adult populations, participation in religious activities has been found to be a “persistent and non-contingent inhibitor” of adult crime, mental illness and drug and alcohol use. For released prisoners, those who can be maintained within a Christian community for up to two years, have a very low likelihood of reoffending (about 8 – 12%). 

Christians in prison have the opportunity to experience a level of fellowship that few free-world believers are likely to experience. Christians make up a relatively small but very close-knit, segment of the prison population. There is a high level of accountability for the Christian prisoner. 

Once released however, Christian ex-prisoners find themselves in a totally different environment. The high levels of accountability, solidarity and support are gone. Without a proactive plan in place before release few ex-prisoners will solidly connect with a church after release. Without this source of spiritual and social support there is little else to do except to return to old friends, habits, and eventual failure.

With these difficulties in mind, PFNZ has designed a programme to bridge the gap between released Christian prisoners, and the church – Operation Jericho. 

The mission of Operation Jericho (OJ) is to encourage, train and support local churches in building their capacity to more effectively minister to Christian prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. Our primary goal is to unite those returning from the prison church with a local church in the community. In order for the programme to achieve this mission OJ must effectively engage local churches in the community that desire to participate in this type of ministry. 

Operation Jericho (OJ) is a church-based, non-residential aftercare programme. Its purpose is to help selected Christian prisoners overcome personal, economic and social barriers in order to lead productive, crime-free lives on release from prison. OJ engages and equips community churches and volunteers to encourage, assist and strengthen accountability for ex-prisoners. OJ also works to leverage the assistance of the business community, social service agencies and other local resources on behalf of participants and their families. 

Late last year, the Department of Corrections offered to work with us, to develop the programme, with a view to implementing the programme in July 2002. PFNZ has proposed that the “roll out” of this programme begin in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty. Please pray that there will be churches and volunteers prepared to take up the challenge of ministering to Christian ex-prisoners and their families/whänau, in a way that will break the cycle of crime and violence in our community. 

“Work in partnerships with communities, provide strong social services for all, build safe communities and promote community development."

--One of the Government’s Strategic Goals

This is accomplished by using church-sponsored mentors to facilitate a relationship with prisoners and ex-prisoners, and other community organizations in order to reduce the societal, resource and personal barriers ex-prisoners often face in attempting to make a successful transition back into society. The programme also seeks to increase the ex-prisoners’ level of attachment to social institutions in the community, thereby reducing their likelihood of re-sorting to anti-social behaviour. 

It presents a challenge to the church to be more closely involved in ministry to prisoners and ex-prisoners, their families and victims. A Conference will be held in June that will interest those involved in Christian social services, in restorative justice, with restoring victims, and those with a ministry of reconciliation. 

Remember those in Prison …..as if you were their fellow prisoners. Hebrews 13:3  

Inmate Mentoring Programme
As part of the Operation Jericho strategy, Prison Fellowship will be offering a biblically based inmate mentoring training. Developed after years of trial and error in the United States, this programme trains Christians in the successful mentoring of ex-offenders. 

“To successfully mentor an ex-offender, individuals must have a biblical perspective of change. God’s Divine view of the sanctification process is a must”, says Executive Director, Kim Workman. “Mentors must clearly understand that salvation is the minimum of spiritual growth the ex-offender has obtained during his moment of conversion. From that point, there is a great potential for spiritual growth, and for inmates to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. Embracing God’s plan for change is crucial for mentors understanding and accepting their roles as change agents.” 

The training will be available to churches who want to get involved in one-to-one mentoring with ex-offenders.  However, the programme has been found to be equally valuable for mentoring youth at risk, and new Christians.  

Church Involvement with Ex-Prisoners
 One requirement for an inmate to become involved in the OJ programme is a commitment to work with a local church. Church attendance is mandatory and an important component of the OJ programme. Church is the primary support system within the community. Church attendance will be monitored by the mentor and reported to the pastor and OJ Church Coordinator. The participant is encouraged to participate in all aspects of church life (to the exclusion of leader-ship for a reasonable period of time). It is desirable for the participant to form a strong attachment to the church they attend. Careful attention will be given to matching a participant with a church that is compatible with their religious persuasion, e.g. Baptist, Pentecostal, etc. The respective needs of the participants and the churches’ ability to address those needs is also very important to programme participant-church matching. The participant hopefully views his church attendance as an exciting experience of fellowship with other Christians in worship to God.