Incarceration to Incorporation
At World Impact, we believe that many of the men and women who will lead the urban church are currently incarcerated.
January 23, 2017
At World Impact, we believe that many of the men and women who will lead the urban church are currently incarcerated.
When West Coast Regional Vice President Paul Chan first began developing the Siafu Leadership training home, he had a vision of formerly incarcerated men becoming pastors.
An awesome move of the Holy Spirit is taking place where most people would expect nothing good to happen – inside the walls of many of our prisons and jails.
Angel believed in the Lord while in prison and quickly had a desire to share his faith with his fellow prisoners.
I would like to introduce you to two men of God who are serving faithfully in the church behind bars at Hutchinson Prison in Kansas. About a year ago, Randy and Abraham started meeting on Sunday nights in the yard with other inmates.
During the past two years, World Impact has been engaged in a new effort to offer inmates with potential a path toward ministry upon their release. Candidates for this new program must show a high level of promise in their Christ transformation as well as Godly training while behind prison walls.
Christ transformed Beau’s life after 10 years of incarceration. And through interactions with World Impact, he was hired at our thrift store in Wichita, KS.
Who will hire ex-offenders? How can formally incarcerated men and women with a gifting in ministry successfully transition back into society? Leadership homes exist to bridge the gap between suburban churches, urban churches and ex-offenders looking to serve the Lord through ministry.
The Lord is moving mightily throughout the World Impact East Coast region and by his grace, we look forward to seeing more “good fruit” from our various missional partnerships.
One of World Impact’s initiatives is Incarceration to Incorporation (I2I), which utilizes Siafu leadership training homes to turn prisoners into pastors. This bold move has expanded our church planting efforts and opened new ministry opportunities across the board – from prison personnel to local urban pastors.
When working with men and women who have spent years in the cycle of addiction, it is common to hear them say that they are “addicted to chaos.” Any kind of success feels uncomfortable, so they quickly sabotage their circumstances in order to move back to a place of disorder.
One of the blessings I have in connecting with a wide variety of churches around the country is seeing the ways they are making a difference in their surrounding communities.