Our nation has a serious crisis when it comes to mass incarceration. We are in need of major reforms within the broader criminal justice system. The deep divide and demonization surrounding Michael Brown, Officer Darren Wilson, and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, show us the need for reforms in the criminal justice system and the need for a deeper commitment to racial righteousness and reconciliation.
In terms of gaining a deeper understanding of the crisis of mass incarceration in our nation, I would highly recommend the book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Instead of painting the picture of mass incarceration and trying to deal with the systemic problems within the criminal justice system, I will focus on solutions and transformation. At World Impact, we are working to implement a comprehensive and holistic initiative we call “Incarceration to Incorporation” (I2I). This is one of our initiatives within our Focus Area of Demonstrating Compassion and Justice. At the same time this initiative brings together the other Focus Areas of World Impact: Planting Healthy Urban Churches, Developing Missional Partnerships, and Resourcing Urban Leaders.
The Purpose of I2I is “to equip local church and parachurch ministries to empower ex-inmates to become faithful servants in the local church as well as prevent urban young people from becoming inmates in the first place.” I2I takes both an approach of prevention and intervention. What’s more, it takes an approach of empowerment, restoration, and transformation of the poor, marginalized, and incarcerated.
Let me start with the prevention side of this initiative. World Impact began over 43 years ago as an urban missions organization focused on evangelism and discipleship among unreached urban poor children and youth. Initiatives back then included bible clubs, discipleship homes, and other outreach activities. I have heard many experts in the area of mass incarceration say that there exists an invisible pipeline from the cradles of poor urban children and juvenile detention centers and prisons. One of the ways that this pipeline can be dismantled is by ensuring that urban children are at grade level in math and reading by the 3rd and 5th grades. We address this at World Impact through two Christian Schools, one in Los Angeles and another in Newark. To dismantle the pipeline we must go beyond just reading and math skills. We must instill in urban under-resourced children that they can be leaders and change agents within their own communities. Strong education combined with evangelism and discipleship can erode the pipeline to the prison system, in systemic and life altering ways. We want to assist in building new pipelines, that redirect under resourced urban youth towards freedom. We want the urban church to adopt public elementary schools and start tutoring programs. We partner with ministries such as the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) to equip children and youth ministry leaders to leverage our history of an incarnational approach to urban ministry that raises up young heroes for God.
But dealing with the crisis of mass incarceration is also about intervention. It’s about believing that when men and women are incarcerated this is not the end of their story. Jesus stood in between a woman who had broken the law of adultery and capital punishment by way of stoning (John 8). We also see here that the mixture of a religious and criminal justice system was broken even way back then. This is not to condone adultery in any way, but to look at brokenness even in systems that are supposed to be just. Where was the man that broke the law of adultery with the woman? Jesus stepped into this broken criminal justice system and kept the woman from being stoned to death. He didn’t believe her crime was the end of her story. This is why we have partnered with Prison Fellowship, Awana, and other ministries to develop The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) satellites that provide theological education and leadership development in prisons and county jails. We have close to 60 TUMI satellites in prisons and county jails, serving 1,113 students. We believe that the incarcerated can become disciples who make disciples while in prison. We also believe there are leadership, ministry, and job skills that can be developed.
The next part of I2I focuses on what happens when men and women come out of prison, jail, or a halfway house program. This is really where the incorporation side of the initiative comes into play. Our SIAFU Chapters and Homes are a way to work with the local church so that those who have been incarcerated can be fully incorporated back into a community and they can make a transformative difference. SIAFU is an African word describing a red ant. This insect by itself is blind and living a life of chaos, but within a network of ants becomes a strong community. SIAFU Chapters are discipleship groups connected to a local urban church or ministry that provides an opportunity for mentoring, continued leadership development, and a bridge into the broader life of the church and surrounding community. The mentoring, coaching, and empowerment can also come through a missional partnership between both the urban and suburban church. SIAFU Homes provide a residential approach where World Impact staff and/or local urban church members have a closer, incarnational relationship with the formerly incarcerated. We have run a pilot of a SIAFU Leadership Home in San Francisco and are set to launch another one in Oakland next year.
I have shared what World Impact is attempting to do in dealing with the crisis of mass incarceration. I encourage you to join in as well in some meaningful way. We are called by Christ to see about the incarcerated (Matthew 25:31-40). Let us live into this biblical mandate.