Jesus Is Central
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).
” (Matt. 4:23; Isa. 61:1).
While I can only imagine, I suspect that Jesus would find himself meeting with the incarcerated and in fellowship with those recently released. As followers of Jesus, I pray that we all will continue to be charged and challenged by the questions that cause us to look at the character of Jesus more intently as we engage a world that so desperately needs to know Him.
In His Service,
Jonathan H. Lewis, Executive Director
Sonia Mendelow, Women’s Ministry Coordinator
Regina Bready, Administrative Assistant
On average, there are about 1,000 inmates housed at the three Bucks County Institutions: Bucks County Correctional Facility, Men’s Community Corrections Center and Women’s Community Corrections Center. More than 80% of these inmates will be released and about half will return to Bucks County. In addition, approximately 20,000 state inmates are released each year and about 7,000 will return to Delaware, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties.
When I heard these statistics, I immediately thought: What can the church do? That pondering led me to ask the greater question: What would Jesus do (about this)? And while I realize that the WWJD phraseology is somewhat out of fashion, I contend that the work of Jesus, and the work of his believers, is never out of trend. As followers of Jesus, we are challenged by his life’s work and in turn should be continually asking ourselves: What
would Jesus do?
One of the blessings we have is the record of how Jesus interacted with others. The Bible states that He wept over sin, and ate with “sinners.” Jesus touched those who needed to be healed and let those searching for healing touch him. Jesus explained some of his many interactions with others with these words: “healthy people do not need a physician – sick people do.” He even went on to say that he “came not to call those who think they are righteous, but to those who know they are sinners”
(Mark 2:17).
The incarcerated men and women and those being released from the surrounding jails and prisons are indeed among the sick and “the lost.”
What Would Jesus Do (about this), you ask? I believe that Jesus would position himself close to the incarcerated, unashamedly declare “the good news of the kingdom” and “proclaim liberty to [them]” (Matt. 4:23; Isa. 61:1).
While I can only imagine, I suspect that Jesus would find himself meeting with the incarcerated and in fellowship with those recently released. As followers of Jesus, I pray that we all will continue to be charged an challenged by the questions that cause us to look at the character of Jesus more intently as we engage a world that so desperately needs to know Him.
The Challenge
More than 2.2 million people are in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 901 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails, 76 Indian Country jails, and military prisons, immigration detention facilities, and
civil commitment centers.
Between 70 million and 100 million – or 1 in 3 Americans – have some type of criminal record. In Pennsylvania, this translates into nearly 3 million of the commonwealth’s citizens.
More than three times as many mentally challenged people are housed in prisons and jails than in hospitals or mental health facilities.
The rate of growth for female imprisonment has outpaced men by more than 50% between 1980 and
- There are approximately 1.2 million women
under the supervision of the criminal justice system - There are approximately 1.2 million women
under the supervision of the criminal justice system.
Helpful Resources:
Prison Policy Initiative
Pew Charitable Trusts
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Resource Center on Justice Involved Women
P.O. BOX 412 – DOYLESTOWN, PA 18901
NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2017
Office: 215-489-0200 | www.lifeabundantinc.org | jonathanifeabundantinc.org | Fax: 215-489-8818
Office: 215-489-0200 | www.lifeabundantinc.org | jonathan@lifeabundantinc.org | Fax: 215-489-8818
Please know that Life Abundant continues to
partner with other organizations to ensure that the
incarcerated men and women at Bucks County are
provided with some of the best programs available.
We are also seeking to introduce new programs and
services as well.
Some of the old and new relationships include:
Celebrate Recovery Inside; Bible Based Trauma
Healing; Correctional Ministries and Chaplains
Association (CMCA) and The Timothy Project to
name a few.
We are offering co-dependency classes and a “12
Steps To A Changed Life” course. We have also
partnered with Commissioner Rob Loughery and
Men’s Ministry Leader Paul Payton to introduce a
new series entitled: “In God’s Larger Story: You
Matter.” We will introduce this series in September
and October of this year.
If you are interested, or know of someone who
might be interested in helping us to effect positive
change in the lives of those that we serve, please
contact us.
Below are some of the ways that you can help:
• In-prison Bible study.
• In-prison Chapel Service (i.e. church).
• In-prison 1-on-1 Mentoring.
• Aftercare 1-on-1 Mentoring.
• Mail correspondence.
• Volunteer opportunities with us.
• Purchasing Christian and holistic resources for
inmates and ex-offenders.
• Training and assistance for church leaders and
volunteers.
• Referrals to other agencies: counseling,
workforce development, housing, employment,
legal aid, etc.
The one underlying truth to all of the programs and
services we offer is this: Jesus is central. Please
continue to pray for all that we are doing at the
institutions and that God’s power would be revealed
to those that are in attendance.
May we all – the supporters of the ministry and the
incarcerated men and women – continue to trust and
believe that “…ALL things are possible with God.”
