In the Local Paper

The truth shall set you free’                                                                Sunday, December 14, 2008

Jail ministry addresses recidivism
By Warren Watkins
The Daily Citizen

Obtaining spiritual freedom is the goal for prisoners who meet with volunteers in the pods around “the wheel,” the circular structure where felony prisoners are kept in the White County Jail.

Sundays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 7 p.m., jail ministry workers enter the group area of the pods armed only with Bibles and concern, hoping to make a difference in the lives of inmates by leading devotions and offering communion.

“It’s primarily to take the Gospel to these men that are in the jail,” said John Dickson, an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. “Hopefully it will spur them along to help them live a better life.”

Jail Chaplain Jeff Montgomery, a deacon at College Church of Christ, said his faith is what spurs his involvement in the work.

“We believe Jesus changes lives,” Montgomery said. “Nobody wants to be in jail.”

All prisoners from throughout the county — whether arrested by city police departments, state police or the sheriff’s department — are taken to the facility, the only detention center in the county.

“I was sinning while I was on the streets and my dad’s dying wish was that I get right with God and quit doing drugs,” said Chris Walls as he sat, Bible in hand, with Dickson and Montgomery at a table in E-Pod on Friday.

Walls said he was incarcerated for driving on a suspended license.

“I buried him three weeks before I came here,” Walls said. “My family left me in here so I could dry out.”

The jail ministry operates under the supervision of Lieutenant Clayton Edwards, chief jailor, and Sheriff Ricky Shourd.

“They’re taking care of the religious needs of the inmates,” Edwards said of the volunteers who run the program. “That’s just basically one more thing I’m not having to deal with.”

Edwards said the value of the program was both legal and practical.

“They have a right to practice their religion, whether they’re locked up or not, kind of like having attorneys visit,” Edwards said. “As long as they feel like they’re satisfied with their religious needs and their legal needs, their morale is definitely better, which makes it better on me and our jailors, to not have to deal with conflict. Once you get 100-plus inmates with bad morale, you have nothing but troubles.”

Tentative plans for the jail ministry include beginning a half-way house for prisoners trying to re-enter society. Meetings are planned to discuss the idea, meant to augment current individual works by churches with a cooperative ministry which will provide supervision and stated rules. By expanding the ministry, Dickson hopes to see recidivism rates drop. Times and dates for planning meetings are to be announced.

For now, Jacob’s Place Homeless Shelter in Searcy offers help only to families, but not individuals.


Photo Note- It is really strange to have your photo taken for a publication when your job is taking photos for a publication, The Citizen photographer is Samuel Peebles and he did a great job with the photos.