As believers, we know that to meet Jesus is to be faced with a choice – a decision to accept or reject Him… a choice that paves the way not only for this life, but for eternity. And yet it is a choice that, without hearing the ‘good news’, many do not have the opportunity to make: their knowledge of Jesus is limited to a name taken in vain, or a misreading of history that He was simply a ‘good guy’.
The Prisoner’s Journey introduces inmates to the true Jesus – Son of God – the one with the power to forgive all sins, to restore what is broken and to make all things new. It is the Gospel program at the very core of Prison Fellowship’s ministry. Often for the first time in their lives, prisoners are invited to ask themselves: ‘What could my life look like – what could I look like – if I decided to follow Him?’
Behind prison walls in quiet, unassuming rooms across the globe, thousands of small groups meet together to take a journey through the Gospel of Mark. For eight weeks, participants on The Prisoner’s Journey take time away from the noise and ruckus of the prison yard to open the Bible and meet Jesus – discovering who He is, what He calls them to, and what He wants for them.
They hear that while ‘the world’ may often only care about the privileged, the elite or the powerful, Jesus came also for those the world rejects: the beggar, the leper, the prostitute… the prisoner.
That Jesus was, for a time, an inmate himself.
Honest conversations, stories and video testimonies from ex-offenders open up space for participants to look at themselves, their lives and their futures in a new way – through the Father’s lens that they too are valuable, wanted, loved… forgiven.
That when Jesus came to save, He came for them.
It is a revelation that has proven to have a profound effect on inmates both inside and outside prison, reflecting the reality that underpins Prison Fellowship’s entire ministry: that true transformation begins when prisoners encounter Jesus and discover His invitation to follow Him. In fact, a recent study found that participants in The Prisoner’s Journey:
- are less likely to reoffend than other inmates
- experience reduced feelings of depression, anxiety and anger
- experience a decrease in negative behaviours such as aggression, drug use, verbal abuse and violence
- live with increased motivation to change, grow and reintegrate into the wider community upon their release.
Recently, Prison Fellowship International celebrated graduating the one millionth participant in The Prisoner’s Journey which has reached inmates in countries as far flung as Malawi, the Philippines, Lebanon and, of course, Australia. Here, we also facilitate an indigenous edition of the course to share the Gospel in a way that connects culturally with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants.
On completion of each course, graduates are celebrated with a special ceremony where they receive a certificate and their own Bible to keep. They’re also invited to enrol in additional discipleship programs where they can develop a deeper knowledge of Jesus and enable the Gospel to take root in their hearts – correspondence Bible studies or The Prisoner’s Journey Continued, a follow-on program for new believers that takes inmates through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, scriptures written while he too was in prison.
For volunteers like Yvonne Smuts who facilitates The Prisoner’s Journey in South Australian prisons – and whose reflection you can read below – the rooms where inmates explore the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are undeniably holy ground; sacred spaces of forgiveness, grace, hope and freedom for God’s children… children He has not forgotten.
They are corners of prisons where lives are being restored, inside out.
CO-TRAVELLERS THROUGH THE GOSPEL
Reflections by Yvonne Smuts
Derek’s* eyes were void of emotion. His words were honest and quietly raw: “I have had to learn to forgive God,” he said. Derek* carried a kind of pain that is not easily addressed by a ‘logical’ conversation about how God would never be the author of his pain. Because his story doesn’t fit neatly into any logic. It fits only into the concept of redeeming grace, the hope we have that all things can be made new and right…
Derek* continued to speak. This time his voice was deeply emotional: “But now I hunger after truly getting to know Him,” he said.
As I have travelled alongside those in prison who choose to attend The Prisoner’s Journey, I have come to understand… just that I will never fully understand. I will never quite have the answers to ‘Why was I not protected when…?’ or ‘Where was God when…?’ The cries of those who have been so deeply and cruelly wounded.
My world is different to Derek’s*. I find myself wondering what these men and women, these ‘co-travellers through the Gospel’, have experienced in their lives. The sheer weight and pain of it.
The Prisoner’s Journey course introduces inmates to Jesus, and I realise that these participants, with whom I share a momentary space, very likely know more of – and empathise more deeply than I ever can with – the suffering, humiliation and injustice Christ experienced… on whom the depth of these wounds were laid on the cross.
The Prisoner’s Journey explores the Gospel of Mark to find the answers to three core questions: ‘Who is Jesus?’, ‘Why did He come?’ and ‘So what now?’
The ‘who’ is revealed in the authority of Jesus and His sacrifice. The ‘why’ is articulated in the desperate need of us sinners and the saving grace available to all. And the ‘so what’ brings the possibility of news so good it can turn lives and circumstances around.
Throughout the weeks we spend together, inmates inevitably bring up ‘if onlys’. The crushing weight of remorse. “If only I hadn’t got in that car,” says Jared*. Both regret and forgiveness rise repeatedly when we meet to be re-sifted and re-examined. Feelings we ‘co-travellers’ are also familiar with. For we too have been the cause of significant pain and suffering.
I am learning not to minimise the reality of those who participate, those whose consequences to their choices are so evident. To never forget that there are some on this ‘prisoner’s journey’ who may not be leaving for many years. This is their ‘home’, their life.
But it is in the words of Christopher* – who was recently baptised in this very prison – that I see the transcending power of redemption and hope that Christ offers in His ‘unforced rhythms of grace’ (Matthew 11, The MSG). “This place is changing,” he says. “We are not afraid to say we are Christians, and we take care of each other.”
Freedom in prison. Family in prison. Co-travellers with Christ in prison. The evidence of God’s unforced rhythms of grace.
*Names have been changed
Yvonne Smuts
The Prisoner’s Journey facilitator
IN THEIR OWN WORDS…
– James*, Graduate of The Prisoner’s Journey
– Travis*, Graduate of The Prisoner’s Journey
– Phil*, Graduate of The Prisoner’s Journey
PRAY THAT MORE PRISONS across Australia would open their doors to The Prisoner’s Journey, enabling more inmates like Derek*, Jared* and Christopher* to have the opportunity to make the decision that can transform their entire lives. If you would like to regularly pray for Prison Fellowship, sign up for prayer updates here.
