Prison Ministry

In keeping with the great commission (To go and make disciples) and the great command (to love God and love others), the prison ministry exists to proclaim the gospel so that the lost may be saved and to teach the saved so that they may grow in their relationship with God.  

The Prison Ministry is primarily one of preaching, teaching, prayer and mentorship.  We has partnered with Rutherford Correctional Center in, Spindale, NC.   Once a month we host a worship service in the chapel that’s located in the Prison.  This worship service is geared to both preach the gospel to the lost and equip the Believers that are incarcerated. Annually we have prison revival services in the prison chapel.    Every Sunday, our volunteers take inmates out of the prison and bring them to our Sunday School and worship service.   After worship we take them to lunch at local restaurants.  This time with the inmates is an intentional time of demonstrating the heart of Christ by mentoring these men in their relationship with Christ.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”  Matthew 25:34-4

Prison ministry theme verse: 

Matthew 25:36, 40

“36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Mission & Description:

God seeks to set prisoners free—not always from their physical prison, but certainly from their imprisonment by sin, ignorance, rebellion, and foolish choices. Jesus identified Himself as the source of this freedom. As this is an important part of God’s work, it is an important part of the Church’s work as well.

• • “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, and LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”      Psalm 146:7-9

  • “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

  • Isaiah 42:6-7

  • “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3

  • “The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him [Jesus]. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ ” Luke 4:17-19

  • “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’“ John 8:34-36

Society may intend prison to be a place of punishment, but God can use it as a place of refinement and transformation. He does not give up on those in prison, but pursues them in love.

• • “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” Psalm 66:10-12

  • “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Psalm 68:5-7

  • “The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.” Psalm 69:33

We all know what it’s like to be in bondage to — imprisoned by — our sin and foolishness apart from Christ. This is why many who work in prison ministry say, “I am really no different from those in prison.”

• • “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” Romans 7:21-25

Introduce Prisoners to God’s Mercy

Most men and women in prison are there for a reason: They did the crime and are doing the time. Hitting rock bottom is what prods many offenders to take an honest look at their lives and cry out to God for mercy. And God is ready to give it.

• • “Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.” Psalm 107:10-16

Transformed lives point everyone’s attention to God! This is the greatest motivation to get involved in prison ministry. No one else can take credit for the miraculous turnaround in criminals’ lives.

• • “Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.” Psalm 142:6-8

Remember No One is Beyond God’s Reach

A person’s past does not have to dictate his future. Even a former criminal, if he has learned from his mistakes and renounced his sins, can become a great leader in God’s hands.

• • “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning. The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.” Ecclesiastes 4:13-15

  • Also consider Moses, who was a murderer and a fugitive from justice when God called him to lead His people out of slavery. In the heat of passion, he had killed an Egyptian, hidden him in the desert sand, and fled the country because the head of the government was out to execute him (Exodus 2:11-15). Yet this is the man God called to lead His people to the Promised Land, to receive the Ten Commandments — to be a pivotal figure in salvation history.

  • Or consider the apostle Paul, a former religious zealot who had burned in his hatred for Christians and conspired in putting them to death for their faith. Yet Jesus called Paul to Himself, directed him to write most of the New Testament, and turned him into the early Church’s greatest missionary to the Gentiles.

Welcome Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Despite their past, offenders who come to Christ have a new identity and a new relationship to the Church! We are to receive them as family, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

• • [Paul is writing to a slave-owner about one of his runaway slaves, Onesimus.] “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me … Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good — no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” Philemon 10-11, 15-16

  • [This takes place after Saul, an enemy of the Church, had an encounter with Christ and was transformed. Many Christians were hesitant to welcome him.] “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” Acts 9:26-28

  • “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”  I Corinthians 12:21-25

As brothers and sisters, we are to assist Christians coming out of prison as they struggle over many hurdles to rejoin their families and their communities.

• • “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  James 2:14-17

  • “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2

  • “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:9-10

  • “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Romans 12:10-16

  • “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:5-7

  • “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.”  Isaiah 42:3

https://www.prisonfellowship.org/

https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/training-resources/in-prison/ministry-basics/what-the-bible-says-about-prison-ministry/