The Pew Center on the States reports 1 in every 99.1 American adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the beginning of 2008 (full report). In other words, over 1% of the United States mission field lies in the hands of prison ministries.

With 1% of Americans behind bars, perhaps there needs to be a bigger emphasis on prison ministry. Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministries and Catherine Rohr’s Prison Entrepreneurship Program are excellent examples of what is possible.

Whether or not your church feels called to have a prison ministry, you should be thinking about how this statistic affects your congregation now and in the future. It is likely there are members of your church who have friends and family in prison. They are probably affected by it, particularly in the case of a child with an imprisoned parent. With such a high rate of imprisoned Americans, how will your community’s culture be affected in the future as some of these inmates get the opportunity to reenter society? Some communities will be more affected than others.

According to the research:

• 1 in 54 men ages 18 or older are incarcerated
  >> 1 in 106 white men
  >> 1 in 36 Hispanic men
  >> 1 in 15 black men
• 1 in 265 women ages 35-39 are incarcerated
  >> 1 in 355 white women
  >> 1 in 297 Hispanic women
  >> 1 in 100 black women

For Discussion:
- What can a church do to minister to those affected by this trend?
- How can a church help reverse this trend?

[via The New York Times]