How Prison Ministry Is Transforming the Church and Its Worship

The church is engaging in ministry to prisoners as never before. Due to skyrocketing recidivism rates (75% of released inmates will return to crime within five years), it is blatantly obvious that our correctional centers do not correct and our reformatories do not reform. This societal crisis of enormous proportions has led to the emergence of the Restorative Justice movement as a way to repair the criminal justice system and to facilitate restoration and healing in collapsing communities. Along the way, however, it has become evident that prison ministry is having a profound impact upon the life of the church and that the principles of Restorative Justice are not only for offenders and victims, but for anyone to live all of life as worship.

Presented at the 2007 Calvin Symposium on Worship.