“How can I get involved with prison ministry efforts?”
When people hear about the work happening at JUMPSTART SC, it’s natural for them to want to take the next step from knowledge to action.
So, to make that next step easier, let’s take a closer look at the three primary avenues people can get involved with JUMPSTART SC's prison ministries:
#1. Volunteering
#2. Employee Partnerships
#3. Giving
#1. Volunteering
Without our incredible volunteers, we would never be able to accomplish our mission. At JUMPSTART, there are two primary avenues for volunteering—our inside program and our transitional program.
Inside Program:
These volunteers facilitate and lead discipleship programs inside of correctional institutions. They enter the prison regularly, working face-to-face with prisoners to encourage, inspire, teach, and facilitate discipleship classes.
Transitional Program:
Our transitional program needs mentors who come alongside former prisoners who need support with re-entering into society. Other outside mentors use their gifts and experiences to help with various other program needs like social media engagement, fundraising, prayer teams, and anything else needed to accomplish the mission.
To learn more about volunteering for JUMPSTART SC, start by filling out the interest form on our website.
#2. Employment
Employment is one of the greatest factors in preventing recidivism among former prisoners. That’s why JUMPSTART’s holistic service model equips our residents to become qualified, dependable workers. But that means we need business partners who are excited to be part of our residents’ second chance.
But it’s not just prison ministries like JUMPSTART who stand to benefit from these partnerships but the businesses themselves!
In the case of JUMPSTART:
We have a 90% retention rate among our residents, in part because we provide transportation to reduce the risk of no-shows and turnover.
Ongoing job training, including soft skills like leadership, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and ethics.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program that gives employers $2,400 for each new adult hire after they have worked 400 hours.
In 2024, one of our graduates won employee of the year at Contec, Inc. !
You can see Gustavo's work team celebrate him receiving the award below:
If you’d like to learn more about becoming an employment partner or having a second chance employment expert train your HR team for second chance employment, reach out to don.williams@jumpstartvision.org.
#3. Giving
Financially supporting a prison ministry is an investment with incredible returns. First and foremost, it’s an investment in God’s work of restoring broken lives.
Second, it’s an investment in the economy since taxpayers save an average of $37,000 annually for each of our residents who don't return to prison. And with a 96% success rate, you can be confident that your support will make a difference.
Learn more about how our financial supporters have made an impact in JUMPSTART South Carolina here.
Ultimately, how you get involved in prison ministry depends on both God’s calling for how to use your time, talents, and treasure. But it also depends on the needs of the specific ministry in your area.
In addition to South Carolina, JUMPSTART is now also operating in North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Florida, and Texas—and God willing, we will spread to new states soon. If you'd like to learn more about the work of JUMPSTART outside of South Carolina, please reach out to Ed Troha .
But if we’re not in your area yet, you can still use the information here as a filter to see which local ministries to serve with. Do they have a holistic service model serving physical, mental, emotional, economical, and spiritual needs? What is the ministry’s success rate with recidivism? How are they equipping participants?
A great next step to take would be to brainstorm the best options for you or have me speak to your group. Together, we can help men and women have a future greater than their past!
What kind of impact could you have? Watch below as a mom and son share how people giving Anthony a second chance changed the trajectory of his life:
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