Equipping Your Church To Minister To Ex Offenders PDF Download

The guiding purpose of this project is to develop a model to help congregations become re-entry churches. It is the development of a series of seminars to help congregations provide a deliberative type of pastoral care, Christological in nature, to all those impacted by mass incarceration. This project targets the highest racial and age percentage of men and women in prison. It leans to, but not limited to nonviolent crimes, with an overall focus on equipping the church to receive and reach out to anyone on the margins. It seeks to address the greatest moral and racial injustice of our time, mass incarceration with the church as a way to turn the tide. This project begins in a city overwhelmed with churches whom all know the impact of racism and incarceration. Goldsboro, NC where the crime rate is higher than the average of the state. Inside this city is a congregation, making a difference in the world. Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is audacious enough to uplift the Kingdom of God inside the church but also in its surrounding community. It served as a pilot for this project for the work they were already doing but also to help them respond to the new construction of a prison near their church. The anticipated outcome that will evolve from this project is that local churches would become more knowledgeable about the trauma of incarceration that is already embedded in their churches. More directly, they will gain a deeper understanding of the politics of incarceration while, juxtaposing biblical anthropology verse criminal anthropology. Doing so will lead in creating a climate of acceptance, openness, honesty, and support. Lastly, they will gain a stronger appreciation of pastoral care to the poor, to the marginalized in respect to the birth, the life, the death and return of Jesus Christ. I believe from a Chaplain's perspective that if the church is authentic in serving God, we will not forget those impacted by mass incarceration and will utilize every ministry to radically encourage a new era in the church beyond prison ministry.