WANT TO DO REENTRY MINISTRY BUT DON’T KNOW HOW? START HERE. Many pastors and ministry leaders in ordinary congregations are motivated to become involved in ministry to men and women leaving incarceration, but they don’t know how to begin. This guide begins by providing a strong biblical foundation, exciting updates in reentry research, and a new paradigm for reentry ministry. It then lays out eight possible pathways that you can explore to see how they might fit your congregation’s strengths and your neighborhood context. Each of these ministry models tries to offer a clear message— both to returning citizens and to your congregation itself—that you understand the need and that your congregation has something of value to offer. 1. The Service Station Model says: You’ve been through a lot and we know you have a lot of needs right now. Come and get some of what you need. 2. The Recovery Fellowship Model says: We’re on a journey from addiction to real freedom. Come and work your sobriety with us. 3. The Coach/Mentor Connection Model says: Reentry is tough to figure out on your own. Come and get connected to someone who can help you find your way and take your next steps. 4. The Peer-led Ministry Model says: We get you because we’ve been there and we’re just like you. Come for “church on the inside,” the outside version. 5. The Jail to Congregation Pipeline Model says: We’ve already connected on the inside. Come and join us on the outside. 6. The Life-Changing Small Group Model says: God’s already been at work in your life. Come and keep growing spiritually and as a leader in a welcoming and supportive group setting. 7. The Whole Family Support Model says: Come with your family. We’re here for all of you. 8. The Mission Station Model says: You have a lot to offer. Come with your passion, gifts, and skills, and let’s make a difference together. Fred Nelson. Until he relocated to Tucson, Arizona, at the end of 2019 to focus exclusively on prison and reentry ministry, Fred was the lead pastor of a multisite Lutheran congregation located in Park Ridge and Chicago, Illinois. Fred has been involved in prison ministry since 2005 and is the founder and executive director of the Inside Out Network. He is also the author of the Spiritual Survival Guide for Prison and Beyond, now in its second edition. More than 60,000 paper copies of the book have been distributed, and it’s currently in use in prisons in South Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia, and Wisconsin. An additional 10,000 prisoners have read the book on computer tablets in over 700 jails and prisons. The Inside Out Network. The Inside Out Network (ION) is a nonprofit that was birthed in Chicago and is now based in Tucson. ION is helping to reshape reentry for people leaving
incarceration with a ground-breaking, invisibility-busting online platform that allows returning citizens and service providers to see and be seen and to communicate directly with each other, beginning pre-release and continuing post-release. ION has forged partnerships with departments of corrections and successfully launched the ION platform in Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon. For more information, check out: INSIDEOUTNETWORK.NET/OVERVIEW
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