Bottom line on costs in money, people, and time Larger, well-resourced congregations can often well afford to do this model. In fact, it can create a lot of dynamic volunteer opportunities for both jail and reentry work. But for the ordinary congregation, you’ll probably need to be “all in,” not so much in terms of finances, but in terms of time investment and in identifying, training, and deploying volunteers and leaders. The possible upside to this kind of investment? A robust, integrated ministry capable of touching and changing lives both behind bars and in the congregation. Advice from the front lines One of our survey questions asked congregations about any prison or jail in- reach they have engaged in. Here’s a listing of some of what they shared with us to spark your imagination: Participating in Celebrate Recovery Inside; Pris- on Fellowship volunteering; congregation members leading a weekly Bible study at a state women’s prison and pastor serves as associate pastor one day/week; hosting 2-3 special events in prison annually; Sunday afternoon visitation in single-cell area of county jail as requested and allowed; phone number to receive collect calls (gets 20-30 collect calls per day from prisons across Florida); part- nering with a local nonprofit that runs chaplaincy in county jail and provides volunteer slots to help with Bible studies and worship; a pastor on staff who rou- tinely goes into prison to visit/counsel/lead studies; monthly visits to share Word and pray; correspondence courses; pen pal ministries; preparing and distributing Christmas and Easter gift bags for inmates. For more info on starting a jail or prison ministry... Beckner, W. Thomas and Jeff Park, eds. Effective Jail & Prison Ministry for the 21st Century. Charlotte: Coalition of Prison Evangelists, 1998. Covert, Henry G. Ministry to the Incarcerated . Self-published, 2014. Goode Sr., W. Wilson, Charles E Lewis Jr, Harold Dean Trulear. Ministry with Prisoners & Families: The Way Forward . Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2011. Spitale, Lennie. Prison Ministry: Understanding Jail and Prison Culture . Whea- ton: Correctional Ministries Institute, 2020. Swanson, Karen. Jail Ministry: Preparing Christians to Effectively Volunteer . Wheaton, IL: Correctional Ministries Institute, 2022.
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