Question about BIBLICAL based half way houses?

Question

has anyone here ever be a part of a ministry for a halfway house for men coming out of prison and transitioning back into society?

What were your experiences like? What BIBLICAL principle did you find most helpful in your daily contact with those who were served by the halfway house?

actually, in this situation, it is a church that is responsible for funding and operating this particular half way house.

Answer 1

If the inmate coming out of prison is still in the custody of the state, therefore has yet completed all of his paroleee requirements, then he Half way houses is either a state or federally funded DOC half way house and are prohibited by law from being Biblical based.

No inmate, while in the custody of DOC, shall be required to attend or participate in any religious services or activity. Attendance to any such activity or service is solely on a voluntary basis.

Once having either been discharged from the DOC or placed on parole,wherein he may continue to be under the supervision of a parol officer but is no longer classified as being in custody, then he can chose to live in a privately funded Biblical Based residential living facility.

Those who choose to live in Biblical based living facility do so because they are seeking spiritual growth. Many have participated in Bible studies though out their incarceration and may be more familiar with the Bible, chapter and verse, than the facilitator. Like any group of Christians they will all be on different spiritual levels.

Salvation is an event. Sanctification is a process.

My experience has been that salvation for the most part is not an issue. Although, the hardest ones for me to work with is the very religious. First of all, because they know thier Bible so well and walk a pretty good walk. They will see themselves as above the group and will be preaching to the others and may be preaching that salvation can be lost. They may claim salvation, but their talk is not salvation through grace.

The majority are dealing with sanctification, or becoming more Christ like in their daily walk and putting their faith in to action as they deal with intergrating back in to "that world" or the "free world", as they call it.

Remember that they dealing with many new situations, sometimes for the first time, sometimes for the first time sober. Recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction is major, major,major. Absoultly, the best advice i could give you is to learn what you can about Alcoholics Anonymous.

I had prejudges (preconcieved ideas) againest A.A., which I aquired from people who didn't know anymore about it than I did.The major hang up I had was because they refer to God as, Higher Power or God, as you understand Him. My other prejudges was because they would be talking about God in one sentence and cussing in the next.

Eventually, I went to some open meetings (non-alcoholics can attend as opposed to closed meeting for alcoholis only) with some of the guys and I began to listen to some of the people who had been aroud there for a long time and I came to understand that both your and my personal relationship with Christ is as we understand him. Or as we say in the church, as He has been revealed by the Holy Spirit.

The guy off the street can't come to church 4 Sundays in a row and know God as you and I do. He has to start putting his faith in God from where he is at and as he does he will grow and God will continue to reveal himself to that man.

I eventually read their book and found nothing objectional about it at all. I also learned, that many or most who have stuck with it a few years end up going to church or back to church, which is their personal decsion.

Having worked with inmates and excons since 95, I can tell you two things for certain. (1) most are alcoholics and or drug addicts. (2) that those who have done the best over the longest period of time went to a 12 step program. Others may have done real well for a while but eventually they drifted away, got back on drugs and returned to prison. I have talked with them and they all have said that they quit going to church and A.A. meetings and quit praying before they got drunk.

I don't know how I got off on A.A.. But, I encourage you to learn what you can about it, and encourage those you work with who are Alcoholics to attend.

I have written a Biblical Based paper titled "The Spiritual Warfare of Addiction" if you are interested in reading it e-mail me and i will send you a copy.

May God Bless Your Ministry.

Spell Check isn't working. Oh well.

Answer 2

Never even knew that they existed.