Our ministry in the prison system is to assist
the offender and his/her family. We accomplish
this through the following programs:
Death Row Ministry : Major
Kathryn Cox from our prison ministry program
visits death row inmates at their request. She
often serves as their spiritual advisor for
their years on death row and has accompanied
many to their execution. She counsels the families
following the executions and continues to be
available to them for as long as needed.
We also assist families of the executed with
funeral arrangements when needed.
Bible Correspondence Courses
: One of the most life-changing services we
offer is our
Bible correspondence courses. In more than
100 prisons across Texas where these courses
are available, we often see men and women led
to Christ as a direct result of what they learn.
To date, more than 61,000 inmates have participated
in this program.
The students begin by working through an elementary
series of courses covering the basics of Christianity.
The courses are meant to familiarize the students
with the Bible and to promote a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. The intermediate and advanced
series are available to those students who wish
to study more in-depth topics and materials.
Volunteers assist us in enrolling new students,
grading papers, logging results, responding
to the students.
Upon satisfactory completion the student is
presented with a Certificate of Completion.
This ministry continues to grow each year
as we bring our courses to more prisons.
Correctional Services Sunday
: Annually we go to as many of the state prisons
as possible on this one Sunday to conduct gospel
services. In 2005 we were able to be at more
than 100 prisons for this event, bringing the
Word of God, music and testimonies to the incarcerated
and their families. In 2006, Correctional Services
Sunday will be on April 23 rd and we plan to
be in as many if not more prisons this year.
Christmas Programs : Every
Christmas season, thousands of inmates fill
out Christmas assistance applications on behalf
of their families. We send those applications
to The Salvation Army office closest to where
the family lives, even if the family resides
in another state. Then, their local Salvation
Army is able to help with food, clothing, toys
and other holiday needs.
We work closely throughout the year with the
Texas Department of Correction chaplains and
we honor that relationship each Christmas by
giving them a special gift of thanks and friendship.
Each Christmas season we travel to different
prisons with candy bags we packed. We hold a
Christmas gospel meeting and then distribute
the candy bags to the inmates. Last year we
handed out more than 19,000 bags.
Prison Ministry Volunteers are needed:
- help us with gospel services held at prisons
on weekends
- to travel with us during December as we
make Christmas visits
- grade and log correspondence course work
- process and mail certificates of completion
- administrative and clerical tasks
If you would like to volunteer please
contact our Prison Ministries Department at
214-956-6278.
