And now for something completely different. This model turns the Service Station Model on its head. Instead of the instinctive focus on the significant and varied needs that most returning citizens have, the Mission Station Model shines a light on their strengths, gifts, assets, and inherent motivation to give back, to serve instead of being served. This need to serve is a crucial aspect of spiritual and personal growth for everyone in your congregation, includ- ing and especially returning citizens. You may recall that desistance research documents this need to “make good,” to make amends, as part of the process of living into a new identity. The need to serve others instead of self is often a God-given and long-nurtured dream born during incarceration. Many in- mates, for example, talk about their eagerness, upon their release, to try to influence youth in their communities not to follow in their footsteps. The model is a great fit for a congregation that... • is missional and actively engaged in service ministries and has room for new participants. Do your members already think about your con- gregation as a kind of mission station? If new people showed up, would there be places for them to serve? • has leaders who can help guide and apprentice returning citizens into new levels of ministry. Don’t make returning citizens languish forever in a de facto probationary status as “helpers.” At some point, many of them will want to learn to lead. • has a system of recognizing someone’s spiritual gifts and helping them put those gifts to use. Having a discipleship and service-oriented minis- try coordinator can go a long way toward helping returning citizens find appropriate and meaningful outlets for their desire to serve. Advantages to the Mission Station Model It drives the process of desistance from crime. Shadd Maruna, one of the pioneers of desistance research, writes, “Desisting ex-offenders emphasize the
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