Opportunities for the Church in Prisons
This article looks at the new ways in which Prison Fellowship is demonstrating the relevance of a Biblical approach in dealing with crime, and how the Church is uniquely poised to expand this opportunity.
GROWTH IN PRISON NUMBERS
The last decade has seen an unprecedented influx of people into the corrections system. In 1992 there was less than 1,300 people in Queensland prisons, now there are over 4,800 and it is climbing. There is another new prison opening this year and the existing prisons are being renovated and extended. This is partly because of a growing crime rate, but also because many crimes now attracting a jail sentence didn't previously.
Furthermore there is an high tendency for inmates who have completed their sentence, to re-offend within a few years. In fact, this happens 6 times out of 10.
As Christians, we know this is an indicator of where our society is heading. This is a depressing reality given the fact that the crimes are also becoming more serious.
It is easy to be angry about crime, and cynical about overflowing jails. But for Prison Fellowship it also represents an increasing opportunity to reach the lost. We have many reasons to be hopeful that the Lord will use this disturbing trend to further His plan and increase His Kingdom, but we are equally aware of the dimension of this spiritual battle.
MAKING THE CYNICS LISTEN
Right now we are seeing some stunning things happen in correctional centres. We are seeing large numbers of inmates coming to the Lord, and requesting baptism. But increasingly, we are seeing governments and corrections professionals looking to Prison Fellowship for Biblical and Spiritual solutions for the impossible human problems that come up in the corrections system.
It should not surprise us that God has the answers for these problems, but it does surprise us that some of the cynics are listening.
People who have worked around inmates for many years are more aware of the hopelessness of the human condition. Naturally this insight is shared by the administrators, and policy makers to try to maintain order and progress in such an environment. As prisons are getting fuller and criminals get more evil, another problem is becoming evident. There is no human solution to this mess. The best programs and therapies can't seem to change a man's heart for any length of time and the statistics tell the story.
Even the best correctional centres can't manage to bring the recidivism rate below about 60 percent. That means that if 3 inmates are released to the community, 2 of them are going to be back again within a few years. Recidivism is the benchmark that a prison is judged by, and there's just no way you can get it down below 50 percent at best.
A CHRISTIAN PRISON
Well in 1997, a new prison was opened in Texas that changed all that. Prison Fellowship in cooperation with the Government of Texas created the first Christian, Bible based prison. Non-Christian and Christian inmates are held in this facility and the results are proving what Christians knew all along - that only God can change a man's heart.
The name of the program is InnerChange. Here's how the Texas Government explains it: "Simply put, InnerChange is one of the boldest experiments in criminal rehabilitation ever attempted in America. It's the nation's first-ever, 24-hours-a-day, Bible- and value-based prerelease program, aimed at helping inmates achieve spiritual and moral transformation. Housed at the Jester II unit in Sugar Land, InnerChange is a 3-phase, volunteer-led program that begins 12-18 months before release and continues on for 6-12 months of post-release aftercare to successfully re-integrate inmates back into society."
InnerChange is modelled after a successful program (now run by Prison Fellowship) but which was begun in 1973 at Brazil's infamous Humaita prison, where observers say the recidivism rate has plummeted to below 5 percent from the general Brazilian rate of 75-80 percent. The InnerChange model is now in more than 80 Brazilian prisons, and is being replicated around the world. Other states are also following Texas' lead.
Christians should find great encouragement in the news that this prison is living up to all the high expectations that have been placed upon it. It's just a pity that it's taken until now for a western country to imitate what has been succeeding in South America for over 25 years.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative is different from many other rehabilitative programs. IFI tries to help inmates change by identifying sin as the root of their problems. It encourages inmates to turn from their sinful past, see the world through God's eyes, and surrender to God's will. This model promotes the transformation of the inmate from the inside out through the miraculous power of God's love.
The Gospel may be "foolishness" to those who are lost, but when the Gospel changes a criminal's life even atheists and humanists will sit up and take notice.
Another similar breakthrough has been seen in Malta. The island country of Malta invited Prison Fellowship to rewrite their criminal justice system from the ground up, including their legislation, incorporating true Biblical models of restorative justice. This model affirms the need for the offender to be dealt with according to law, but not for the pure motive of punishment. It recognizes that the victim needs to be involved, and there is a true move for reconciliation between the people involved.
RESORATIVE JUSTICE
Prison Fellowship has also seen encouraging community and government response to The Sycamore Tree Project, a Restorative Justice initiative. Restorative Justice programs have been widely reported in the media.
Restorative Justice brings together the criminal and the victim. They meet in a community context with the objective of reconciliation and restoration.
It follows the biblical principal of restitution - where the aim of justice is not just to simply punish, but to work towards an objective that will bring stability and harmony back to the community.
Restorative justice is a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future.
Not only is this approach more effective in dealing with young criminals, it also addresses the harm done to the victim. The United Nations and Governments around the world are scrambling back to the drawing board with this "new" idea. Not least, because it works in indigenous cultures as well as in modern society.
THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE
People today are rightly frustrated and angered by the level of crime and the alarming trends towards a society that is producing more problems than it can solve. But it is exciting that once again the Church has the opportunity to lead the way in revealing the flip side of that story. We understand the problem of sin. We know the Good News, which is the missing piece to this puzzle.
Who would have thought that a world that boasts such great technical progress and social sophistication might eventually come back to the Bible for answers to the problem of crime. In a world that offers little relief for the Christian, this is a golden opportunity. It is a chance to bring the Truth, not only to those who are bound by criminal behaviour, but also to those who try to deal with them.
Prison Fellowship is taking the lead in this area, and it seeks your support and your voice in seizing this opportunity.
The last decade has seen an unprecedented influx of people into the corrections system. In 1992 there was less than 1,300 people in Queensland prisons, now there are over 4,800 and it is climbing. There is another new prison opening this year and the existing prisons are being renovated and extended. This is partly because of a growing crime rate, but also because many crimes now attracting a jail sentence didn't previously.
Furthermore there is an high tendency for inmates who have completed their sentence, to re-offend within a few years. In fact, this happens 6 times out of 10.
As Christians, we know this is an indicator of where our society is heading. This is a depressing reality given the fact that the crimes are also becoming more serious.
It is easy to be angry about crime, and cynical about overflowing jails. But for Prison Fellowship it also represents an increasing opportunity to reach the lost. We have many reasons to be hopeful that the Lord will use this disturbing trend to further His plan and increase His Kingdom, but we are equally aware of the dimension of this spiritual battle.
MAKING THE CYNICS LISTEN
Right now we are seeing some stunning things happen in correctional centres. We are seeing large numbers of inmates coming to the Lord, and requesting baptism. But increasingly, we are seeing governments and corrections professionals looking to Prison Fellowship for Biblical and Spiritual solutions for the impossible human problems that come up in the corrections system.
It should not surprise us that God has the answers for these problems, but it does surprise us that some of the cynics are listening.
People who have worked around inmates for many years are more aware of the hopelessness of the human condition. Naturally this insight is shared by the administrators, and policy makers to try to maintain order and progress in such an environment. As prisons are getting fuller and criminals get more evil, another problem is becoming evident. There is no human solution to this mess. The best programs and therapies can't seem to change a man's heart for any length of time and the statistics tell the story.
Even the best correctional centres can't manage to bring the recidivism rate below about 60 percent. That means that if 3 inmates are released to the community, 2 of them are going to be back again within a few years. Recidivism is the benchmark that a prison is judged by, and there's just no way you can get it down below 50 percent at best.
A CHRISTIAN PRISON
Well in 1997, a new prison was opened in Texas that changed all that. Prison Fellowship in cooperation with the Government of Texas created the first Christian, Bible based prison. Non-Christian and Christian inmates are held in this facility and the results are proving what Christians knew all along - that only God can change a man's heart.
The name of the program is InnerChange. Here's how the Texas Government explains it: "Simply put, InnerChange is one of the boldest experiments in criminal rehabilitation ever attempted in America. It's the nation's first-ever, 24-hours-a-day, Bible- and value-based prerelease program, aimed at helping inmates achieve spiritual and moral transformation. Housed at the Jester II unit in Sugar Land, InnerChange is a 3-phase, volunteer-led program that begins 12-18 months before release and continues on for 6-12 months of post-release aftercare to successfully re-integrate inmates back into society."
InnerChange is modelled after a successful program (now run by Prison Fellowship) but which was begun in 1973 at Brazil's infamous Humaita prison, where observers say the recidivism rate has plummeted to below 5 percent from the general Brazilian rate of 75-80 percent. The InnerChange model is now in more than 80 Brazilian prisons, and is being replicated around the world. Other states are also following Texas' lead.
Christians should find great encouragement in the news that this prison is living up to all the high expectations that have been placed upon it. It's just a pity that it's taken until now for a western country to imitate what has been succeeding in South America for over 25 years.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative is different from many other rehabilitative programs. IFI tries to help inmates change by identifying sin as the root of their problems. It encourages inmates to turn from their sinful past, see the world through God's eyes, and surrender to God's will. This model promotes the transformation of the inmate from the inside out through the miraculous power of God's love.
The Gospel may be "foolishness" to those who are lost, but when the Gospel changes a criminal's life even atheists and humanists will sit up and take notice.
Another similar breakthrough has been seen in Malta. The island country of Malta invited Prison Fellowship to rewrite their criminal justice system from the ground up, including their legislation, incorporating true Biblical models of restorative justice. This model affirms the need for the offender to be dealt with according to law, but not for the pure motive of punishment. It recognizes that the victim needs to be involved, and there is a true move for reconciliation between the people involved.
RESORATIVE JUSTICE
Prison Fellowship has also seen encouraging community and government response to The Sycamore Tree Project, a Restorative Justice initiative. Restorative Justice programs have been widely reported in the media.
Restorative Justice brings together the criminal and the victim. They meet in a community context with the objective of reconciliation and restoration.
It follows the biblical principal of restitution - where the aim of justice is not just to simply punish, but to work towards an objective that will bring stability and harmony back to the community.
Restorative justice is a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future.
Not only is this approach more effective in dealing with young criminals, it also addresses the harm done to the victim. The United Nations and Governments around the world are scrambling back to the drawing board with this "new" idea. Not least, because it works in indigenous cultures as well as in modern society.
THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE
People today are rightly frustrated and angered by the level of crime and the alarming trends towards a society that is producing more problems than it can solve. But it is exciting that once again the Church has the opportunity to lead the way in revealing the flip side of that story. We understand the problem of sin. We know the Good News, which is the missing piece to this puzzle.
Who would have thought that a world that boasts such great technical progress and social sophistication might eventually come back to the Bible for answers to the problem of crime. In a world that offers little relief for the Christian, this is a golden opportunity. It is a chance to bring the Truth, not only to those who are bound by criminal behaviour, but also to those who try to deal with them.
Prison Fellowship is taking the lead in this area, and it seeks your support and your voice in seizing this opportunity.
Last modified
2006-04-12 07:58 PM