Prison Chapel Volunteers

• NCJ Number: 210868
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 69 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 26-30
• Author(s): Richard Tewksbury; Sue Carter Collins
• Date Published: June 2005
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study profiles the characteristics, recruitment, training, and tasks of volunteers who serve in prison chapel programs, and it reports on volunteers' assessments of their experience.

Abstract

Study data were collected in the summer of 2003 via anonymous surveys distributed to prison-ministry volunteers in three Kentucky prisons. Forty-one out of 80 surveys were returned. Survey findings indicate that a majority of respondents were middle-aged, White females who represented a variety of religious faiths. Sixty percent of the volunteers reported prior experience in jail-based ministry programs, for an average tenure of nearly 8 years. In their current institution, volunteers had worked for a mean tenure of 7 years and 4 months. When asked about their personal experiences with the criminal justice system, one in six (17.5 percent) reported having a prior criminal conviction. Approximately 12.5 percent reported having been on probation, and 12 .5 percent had been in jail. Five percent also served time in prison. A total of 57.9 percent of the volunteers had at least one family member who was involved in the general ministry, and almost half had a family member who was involved in a prison ministry program. At least one-third of the respondents had graduated from college and seminary programs, which suggests recruiting religious students at selected institutions of higher learning and seminaries to serve as volunteers in prison chapel programs. Few had received formal education or training for their prison ministry. Almost all reported teaching inmates as well as preaching at services. Less than 20 percent engaged in counseling about personal problems, assisting in reentry into the community, or acting as friends to inmates. Their long tenures as volunteers in prison chapel programs confirms their reports of receiving a high degree of satisfaction from their work. 6 tables and 8 references