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Book Review:
Ministry with Prisoners & Families: The Way Forward printer-friendly

By Carmen Warner-Robbins, Welcome Home Ministries
(Book authors: W. Wilson Goode Sr., Charles E. Lewis Jr., Harold Dean Trulear)

In the midst of the financial crisis being experienced by our nation, states are having to grapple with budget shortfalls the require difficult decisions that affect all facets of state and local government operations.

The criminal justice system has represented an ever increasing percentage of state budgets, leading to proposals for reductions in essential services like fire and police services, education, and health and human services for people living on the margins of society.

In the period between 1980 and 2000, the number of people incarcerated in our national criminal justice system increased from approximately 300,000 to more than two (2) million. It is estimated that today there are 2.3 million people incarcerated in U.S prisons. By the end of 2007, that number grew to more than seven (7) million Americans behind bars, on Probation, or on Parole (1 in every 31 adults). The impact of this dramatic increase has been particularly devastating for people of color who are over represented in every aspect of the criminal justice system.

Ministry With Prisoners & Families: The Way Forward is timely, and an important contribution to the body of work being developed in direct response to the impact of the criminal justice system within the African-American community. This book represents yet another call to action for the African-American community in general, and to the African-American Church in particular. The text of this book carefully lays out the historic ground work of the impact of the system on the community, and builds the case for why it is the African-American Church that must rise up and lead its people, much as Moses did. This book presents the seeds for revival within the church, stating the need, calling on the forces, equipping the Saints, and the vision for renewing and reinventing our communities from the inside out.

Ministry With Prisoners & families provides a compilation of data that speaks to the magnitude of the criminal justice system problem within the community. The text references scripture, reminds us of the hope that is within, and recalls the history of incarceration, the role the church played, and how Chaplains both then and now carry that hope to those behind the walls. Finally, the text speaks to prison ministry today, and the need for church involvement and support both pre and post release.

For all those who claim the name Christian, and especially the African-American Church, this book (Ministry With Prisoners & Family) is a must read. The hour is late, and those currently and recently incarcerated are waiting.

Copyright © 2011 Christian Association for Prison Aftercare. All Rights Reserved.