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United Methodist Jail Ministries

Cellblock Worship Services enable inmates to conduct their own worship services inside the cellblocks of the jail on Sundays when their blocks would not be attending worship services in the chapel.  Address:  Faith United Methodist Church, 3096 West 62nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268, (317) 293-4660

Urgent Need for Volunteers

Justice ministry volunteering is not for everyone.  Churches must be willing to provide training and orientation for volunteers which is carefully planned and well organized.  Ecumenical and denominational resources should be used.  Training should include some on-site experience in courts as well as opportunities to know the rules of institutions involved, opportunities to learn about the experience of people being served, as well as support systems for the volunteers.  Effective ministry recognizes that visiting persons in jail/prison, while motivated by the love of Christ, is not for the purpose of imposing one's faith in Christ on a captive audience or a needy person.  Faith works through love by sharing friendship and redemptive fellowship with offenders, victims, families of both, and all concerned.

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Victims

Victims feel twice victimized: first by the victimizer and second by an insensitive criminal justice system.  The church may establish a victim crisis center or become involved in one already established.  The presence of a friend during these particular crises is invaluable.  Churches must realize that inmates and their families are also victims.  In particular, most incarcerated women have often been victims of abuse.

Victim Assistance Program(s)

Some of the most neglected persons are the victims of crime.  We recommend that local church pastors and Councils on Ministries study their situation and help develop a ministry to victims.  In Greensboro, a United Methodist woman, Mrs. Jane Cauthrn, directs a program called "Turning Point."  It began as a ministry to victims of child abuse, sex abuse, rape, and spouse abuse, but it now includes victims of all crimes.  There is a training program for volunteers and speakers to come from consciousness raising.  Call or write Turning-Point, 1301 N. Elm St., Greensboro, NC 27401.  Phone: 910/373-1345.

Another victim assistance/rape crisis ministry is offered in Mecklenburg County.  The program is headquartered in the police department building but operated by United Family Services.  The address is 825 E. Fourth St., Room 205, Charlotte, NC 28202.  Phone 704/335-2190.

Victim Rehabilitation Program

Vocation Education

Vocational Training

Volunteer

Seek volunteer persons to participate in in-prison ministries in the state prison where feasible (Bible study, tutorial, one-on-one visitation, craft instruction).

Volunteers in Prevention, Probation, and Prison

Address:  527 N. Main, Royal Oak, MI 40861, (313) 389-8550

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Women’s Advocate Ministry in Courts and Jails

Provides a supportive presence for the woman in need, beginning with her arrest and continuing through the court process, incarceration and re-entry into society. Address: 55 Edgecombe Avenue, New York, NY 10030, (212) 862-0124, Contact person: Annie M. Bovian.

Worship Services

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Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina, Inc.

Yokefellow Prison Ministry offers Christian men and women, who have been trained in the Yokefellow ministry, the opportunity to enter a local prison weekly or as often as possible to share the Good News of Jesus.  Working in small groups of 2-3 Yokefellows and 3-5 inmates, they witness through careful listening, loving attention and personal relationships, bringing Christ to bear on the particular needs, dreams, questions and problems of the inmate.  Address:  Yokefellow Prison Ministry of NC, Inc., P. O. Box 10094, Winston-Salem, NC 27108, (336) 724-9801.

Youth For Christ, International (Youth Guidance)

Youth for Christ, an organization which began in the 40's with Billy Graham as their first full-time evangelist, has a unique ministry to troubled youth.  Youth Guidance actually began in 1951 when a YFC staff person began counseling young people locked up in juvenile detention facilities. 

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