The Silent War

(5/20/2008)

Prisoners at Larimer County Detention Center say LCDC has the best Bible and church services in the West; thanks to a coalition of Shekinah, Freedom Fellowship and Prison Fellowship ministries.

We’ve Fought the Silent War For Over Twenty-Four Years

On any societal scale, America's epidemic of criminality, with it's accompanying infestations of drug abuse and dysfunctional family life, ranks among America's top five problems.

Yet, how many are truly concerned about this enormous epidemic? We have the usual political calls for "law and order," and occasional pleas to "lock them up and throw away the keys," but we see little public discourse on the problem (unless someone proposes to build a jail or prison in someone else's back yard). Large, well-organized groups work endlessly to address the social evils of poverty, discrimination, crippling diseases, etc. But no large, well-funded groups operate to fight the equally severe epidemic of criminality in our society. Which is why we call it The Silent War.

Shekinah Ministries and some 200 volunteers work within 25 county, state and federal penal institutions to transform the hearts and minds of inmates – permanently turning them from lives of crime. We recognize that 75% to 85% of crimes are committed by repeat offenders, and 95% of all prisoners will be released within three years. Shekinah intervenes to break this cycle of criminality by introducing a higher order of spirituality, morality and responsibility into the lives of prisoners.


And our approach works. Our volunteers work statewide to reach large numbers of felons each year. One associate program successfully turns some 95% of the inmates involved in the program, into peaceful, tax-paying citizens. (Compared to society’s over-all rate of just 15-20% success in preventing repeat criminality – recidivism.)


We have several office volunteers (all part-time), 118 jail and prison volunteers, 27 nursing home volunteers, and numerous once-in-a-while casual volunteers. This combined force provided over 35,000 hours of service to the community with a conservative equivalent labor value of approximately $1.2 million. Most of these volunteers each spend well over a thousand dollars a year on donations, meals, transportation, lodging and personal supplies in fulfilling our manifold ministries. All this is accomplished on an annual budget of just over $100,000.

Despite the $$$ billions spent on incarceration–we can shepherd only a few of the thousands released each year. As our support base increases we will expand not only our current programs, but will open up more of Colorado’s 10 youth prisons to the Word of God.

Our programs address four specific areas of need:

- Youth Ministry. This includes on-going teaching, counseling and worship services at the Platte Valley Youth Facility in Greeley, and at Lookout Mountain Youth Detention Center in Golden. Purpose of these programs is to keep first offenders from becoming repeat offenders.

- Jail Ministry. Weekly meetings, bible studies and one-on-one counseling reach thousands in Boulder, Larimer, Weld and Adams County jails. Primary intent of these programs is to dissuade first-offenders from becoming career criminals.

- Prison Ministry. A major thrust of our prison seminars and bible studies is to help inmates build on-going, in-house fellowships. We then serve an evangelistic role as teachers, mentors and supporters of the resultant in-prison churches.

- Restoration Homes. In cooperation with others, we identify and help place deserving inmates in group settings that build upon the new spirituality in their lives. These strictly-controlled homes provide volunteers who provide jobs, training and on-going mentoring in good citizenship. Such homes have had phenomenal success at restoring and returning people to society – but the availability of facilities falls woefully short of the demand.




- Family Shepherding. In cooperation with authorities and other Christian-based ministries, this rapidly-growing program completes the process of turning criminals into responsible citizens. The jail and prison visitation programs identify those who are committed to change, and after-care volunteers then work to establish them and their families in faith communities. Attention is also given to their start-up material needs.

- Aftercare. As convicts are released on parole, a member church will take them under the church wings to help them find work, housing, transportation, clothing and food. Volunteers from the member church then step in to mentor and to shepherd the ex-prisoners; and work with them on developing social and spiritual values that will allow re-entry into society as productive, God-fearing citizens.

- Victims of Crime. Still under development, these programs will be integrated with inmate-restitution and reformation programs encouraging ex-offenders and victims to work together in mutually supportive settings. Consideration is being given to such things as doing repair work and maintenance at victims’ homes, on their automobiles, appliances, etc. Other approaches may attempt to reconcile victims with repentant offenders in face-to-face settings.

- Family Care Facilities. Such programs could be hugely expensive, but a great need exists to help offenders’ families re-establish themselves in faith communities as a means to breaking cycles of criminality, immorality and poverty. Effective means for diverting some of the $$$ billions spent on policing and imprisonment must be developed to make this program a reality.