Mission Month – Prison Ministry
For many years KXC has partnered with London City Mission to reach marginalised people in our community. One of our partnerships is with the Prisons and Resettlement Team, who are mainly based at HMP Pentonville, a men’s prison a short walk from the church.
Pentonville is often in the media for negative reasons, like overcrowding, violence, self-harm or corruption, but if you spoke to any of KXC’s committed prison volunteers you would hear countless stories of how God is doing powerful things in people’s lives behind prison walls.
LCM and KXC work with the prison chaplaincy team in a variety of ways: we run chapel services in the prison early on Sunday mornings, help with courses like Prison Alpha, Difference and Life Explored on Wednesday afternoons, do one-to-one visits on the wing with men who aren’t able to attend chapel and also support men who are released into the local community.
KXC make a huge contribution to the life of the chaplaincy and the lives of the men inside Pentonville. Bringing energy to leading worship, praying for men in their own language, visiting someone and listening when they’re going through difficult times, or reading the Bible together in a discussion group, these are all powerful things that demonstrate how God hasn’t forgotten about these men even though it might seem like society has.
The ministry continues outside prison in the form of a weekly discipleship group. Every Friday morning, we drink coffee, share our battles and blessings from the week, pray for each other and study the word. The group is a consistent presence for the men in a time that can feel very vulnerable and chaotic when you first get released from prison. We also offer befriending and support to men who want to be a part of the church when they get released.
Discipleship in prison is a huge challenge and there are tough issues to face head-on: forgiveness, reconciliation, dealing with the impact of your crimes and the pain you have caused, to name a few. It’s best to do this in the community, and that’s another reason why it’s so vital KXC, as a local church, continues to get involved inside Pentonville.
In every aspect of the ministry, we want to build genuine relationships and share the good news of Jesus with people who have been pushed to the margins of society. Luke Carson, LCM’s team leader for Prisons and Resettlement and a member of KXC, recently took part in a podcast discussing practical tips on how to build these genuine relationships in the margins and how to have confidence in sharing the gospel. We highly recommend anyone interested to give it a listen. Also, if you have any questions or are interested in learning more about our prisons ministry email luke.carson@lcm.org.uk or karis.carson@kxc.org.uk.