The Story of How We Began Our Journey
March 22, 2013 - Uncategorized
In order for you to grasp the vision of Prisoners in Christ, it’s important that I share the story of how we began our journey. My first encounter with the Michigan Department of Corrections lasted from 1989-1993 as I served a 5-year sentence for Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property. In 1995, while on parole, I re-offended and received a Life sentence for Assault with Intent to Rob While Armed.
Seven years later, December 12, 2002, I experienced a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. (Troy: Called to Prison Ministry by Tymen Hofman, Christian Courier). As I grew in the faith, I became aware of the strained relationship between free and imprisoned Christians. To share what I learned about the Church and prison ministry, my parents and I began publishing Our Generation newsletter. Our goal was to inspire our free brothers and sisters to work toward repairing that fracture in the Body of Christ.
In the following years “A Plea from the Church Behind Bars,” “Partners in the Gospel: and “We Are All Here” were published in the Banner, Christian Century, and Reformed Worship magazines. Eventually Church of the Servant (COS) adopted our first initiative, Christians for Prisoner & Prisoners for Christ, into their outreach ministry.
Our partnership with COS enabled us to work with other Christians to plant the first Prison Congregation of America in the State of Michigan, Celebration Fellowship, at Ionia Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility. Since 2007 we have worshiped with our incarcerated brothers, encouraged them through visitation and aided them as they reenter society.
As we transition into our next phase of ministry, the name Prisoners in Christ reflects our belief that, in Christ, we all are inextricably bound up together in the web of humanity – that whether imprisoned or free, victim or offender, rich or poor, and regardless of religion or ethnicity, we are all creatures created in the likeness and image of God.
Given the scope and magnitude of this challenge we concede that restoring community cannot be realized by independent effort. Fostering such a great social change in the human condition necessitates the enlistment of every gift and ability of the community. In Scripture, the apostle Paul teaches us how “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (1)
Following this principle, we would like to join with you, either in your individual or organizational capacity, to explore the following: 1. innovative methods for preventing crime and offenses; 2. practical ways to meet victims needs; and 3. standardization of specific and measurable offender reform prerequisites for reentry into community. If you would like to partner with us, please CONTACT US.
In conclusion, if you were to ask, “why is this movement important?” I would say, aside from the fact that we all exist under the highest moral obligation to advocate for, and see to preserve, the most basic human rights of all people; I would point out how, today, the prison industrial complex is making future prison population and consumer projections based on the ethnic, academic, economic and paternal status of our nation’s children. And while some communities eagerly await the economic stimulus from a nearby prison opening, other communities are being decimated by preventable offenses, encouraged lack of forgiveness and a growing distrust, all of which perpetuate the cycle of offense.
PARTING THOUGHT
“We must unite our efforts and our resources to effect change. We are together a great reservoir of liberal power, and if we are conscious of our potentialities we can shift political alignments until they become truly responsive to our needs.” (2)
SOURCES
1. Ephesians 4:16 New International Version
2. Martin Luther Ling Jr., speech September 8, 1962; Quoted in Donald T. Phillips, Martin Luther King Jr. on Leadership: Inspiration & Wisdom for Challenging Times. New York, NY. Hachette Book Group 2000. p. 142