A man or a woman is in prison.  Current popular thinking is – Good! Lock them up and forget them! However, although society may have written them off, or family and friends may not want to know them anymore, God still loves them. Like you and me, he still has a plan and purpose for them.

Despised and rejected, many prisoners are genuinely sorry for their actions. They desperately want to change the attitudes and behaviour that led to prison. But who will walk with them on that journey?

Julie visits Rachel every week in one of our women’s prisons. “I go in to see Rachel, she was having some suicidal thoughts.” Rachel wanted no visitors except Julie. “She wanted to see me because I was the only one who could uplift her, encourage her and make her feel special. She can just offload to someone she trusts. We don’t judge and are an open ear and love them unconditionally.

“She wouldn’t have lasted. She said to me, ‘If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve gone on a hunger strike and starved myself to death.’” Julie was there for Rachel at her crossroads in life.

How did Julie become involved? “I asked my local church how I could get involved in prison ministry. They told me about Prison Fellowship. I did an induction and got interviewed and they accepted me. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone!”

Prison Fellowship volunteer visitors are a vital resource for inmates. Through this ministry, volunteers go into prisons all over Australia, building relationships with inmates and showing that someone still cares. Honestly, prison visiting is not an easy ministry. It can take months or even years to see change in an inmate’s life, but change does happen.

We are always eager to talk with Christian men or women who are interested in volunteering for this life changing ministry.  Please contact your State office for more details.