WHY ANOTHER PRISON MINISTRY?
WHO WE ARE
STATEMENT OF
FAITH
MISSIONARY PARTNERSHIPS
HOW YOUR CHURCH CAN GET INVOLVED
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Daily Quiet Time Series
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Shared Bible Studies
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
GAP & YOU
WHY ANOTHER PRISON MINISTRY?
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--Jon Tubbs
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ED walked into the unit television room with a look of surprise and hurt on his face as he sat down for the weekly Bible study. "What happened?" someone asked.
"They all hung up on me-I didn't call collect. I can't believe it."
After calling nine local Christian churches from the state prison with
the hope that a pastor would be able to help answer a question, Ed
discovered a little known-fact facing many imprisoned Christian men and
women--their rejection by fellow believers in local area churches.
His story is not an isolated incident, nor confined to certain areas of
the country. A vast chasm of fear and mistrust separates Christians in
our nation's jails and prisons from their Christian brothers and sisters
in local churches.
Although many prison ministries spread the Gospel in jails and prisons,
provide Bible study materials and offer some aftercare services to
inmates, many imprisoned believers receive the cold shoulder from fellow
Christians in local churches, whether during imprisonment or upon
release.
For the most part, the church outside remains distant and distrustful
with little understanding of their Christian brothers and sisters in
prison, especially if the prisoner's conversion took place while
incarcerated. Many Christian prisoners maintain this separation by
incorrectly assuming that all Christians will reject them.
However, GAP (Grace Alliance Partnerships) Prison Ministries believes
there are many believers and their local churches willing to bridge this
divide. As a non-denomination, non-profit, evangelical ministry, it is
our mission to partner with them to build a bridge between church "outside" with the
church "inside" for the purpose of
promoting spiritual growth.
JESUS CHRIST ministered to people in a very personal way. Despite
differences in language, culture, religion, race, morality, or social
status--whether Jew or Gentile, sinners or tax collectors--Jesus displayed
genuine interest in people and their needs as He awoke each person to
spiritual truths. Within the context of His Gospel ministry, the apostle
Paul also related to people on a very personal level in order to meet
their spiritual needs--he became all things to all men (1 Cor. 9:22).
Yet, most prison ministries today either
discourage or prohibit any personal involvement between their volunteers
and prisoners, furthering the separation and undermining the ministry's
effectiveness.
We at GAP Prison Ministries believe that a personal hands-on approach is necessary to bridge the divide and promote effective spiritual growth in discipleship.
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