USA Missions Revises Jail and Prison Ministry Handbook
Mr. Robert Pace skillfully wrote the “How To Do It” handbook for Church of God Jail and Prison Ministry nearly 30 years ago. Because of changes in statistical information, governmental guidelines, and Church of God terminology, this manual was recently updated and revised by Dr. James E. Cossey, Administrative Coordinator for USA Missions, with the permission and blessings of Mr. Pace.
Cossey explains that care has been given not to change the content of the handbook, which is the literary work of the original author, who was one of the founding fathers of Men of Action (Now Men and Women of Action), and a proven leader in all facets of lay evangelism, including jail and prison ministry.
Ministry to jails and prisons can be a most effective evangelistic outreach, but the approach is one of specialization. The 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government hold 1.6 million prisoners, and local, municipal and county jails hold around 800,000 inmates. On any given day, one million people will be confined within these systems, a number equivalent to the population of the City of Dallas, Texas! Over nine million people—equivalent to the population of New York City—will spend some time in jail each year. Preparation and training are crucial in order to effectively penetrate this ripe harvest field.
The handbook covers such subjects as, “General Guidelines for Getting Started,” “The Do’s and Do Not’s of Working With Offenders,” “Helping Families of Inmates and Ex-Offenders,” “Helping the Inmate After Release,” and much more.
The JAIL AND PRISON MINISTRY HANDBOOK consists of 30 8 ½ X11 pages, and will be available for free download from the USA Missions website at www.usamissions.com.
