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Neighbors Who Care
Last modified 2007-11-14 08:47
One result of Prison Fellowship USA’s interest in restorative justice was the development of a church-based ministry to victims called Neighbors Who Care (NWC). It was designed to be a ministry of local churches to demonstrate and communicate the love of Christ by addressing the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of crime victims during the first days after the crime takes place. Its name was drawn from the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), who loved his neighbour when he cared for a stranger who was the victim of a crime.
NWC’s organizational structure relied on local chapters that
established relationships with police and victim services providers in
their communities, and then recruited, trained and deployed church
volunteers to meet the immediate needs of crime victims (crime scene
clean-up, for example).
NWC also conducted training for pastors on the faith dimensions of victimization and victim support and began to design crime prevention training and programmes. In 2000 the national office was disbanded because of limited finances with some of the local chapters becoming self-supporting organisations in their own right.
The national staff of NWC, led by its president Lisa Barnes Lampman, created two operational manuals, one was a general manual for its chapters and the other included materials of particular interest to churches.
Prison Fellowship USA holds the copyright to these manuals, and has granted permission to reprint them here.
General Manual
This manual seeks to help individuals with a calling to victim ministry to collaborate with a variety of churches and organizations in their community in creating a victim assistance ministry. It contains information on structuring a NWC chapter, recruiting participating churches, working with law enforcement, creating a budget, and fundraising.
Church Manual
This manual provides interested churches with a structure for creating a victim assistance ministry. It provides information on the needs of crime victims, the steps an assistance process should include, recruiting volunteers within the church, and working with local law enforcement.
NWC also conducted training for pastors on the faith dimensions of victimization and victim support and began to design crime prevention training and programmes. In 2000 the national office was disbanded because of limited finances with some of the local chapters becoming self-supporting organisations in their own right.
The national staff of NWC, led by its president Lisa Barnes Lampman, created two operational manuals, one was a general manual for its chapters and the other included materials of particular interest to churches.
Prison Fellowship USA holds the copyright to these manuals, and has granted permission to reprint them here.
General Manual
This manual seeks to help individuals with a calling to victim ministry to collaborate with a variety of churches and organizations in their community in creating a victim assistance ministry. It contains information on structuring a NWC chapter, recruiting participating churches, working with law enforcement, creating a budget, and fundraising.
Church Manual
This manual provides interested churches with a structure for creating a victim assistance ministry. It provides information on the needs of crime victims, the steps an assistance process should include, recruiting volunteers within the church, and working with local law enforcement.