Dallas Anderson: Prison Ministry More Important Than Ever

CHICAGO, IL (July 10, 2003) - Biblical characters such as Joseph, Daniel, and Paul did time there. And caring for residents of these places is considered a must for those wishing to truly follow Christ.

And today, the need for people to do prison ministry is greater than ever. The U.S. imprisons a higher percentage of its population than any other nation (According to one report, the U.S. holds 5 percent of the world's population, but it holds 25 percent of the world's prison population.) Bureau of Justice statistics note that 1 in 20 U.S. residents will serve time in prison during their lifetime. For African-American men, the percentage is closer to 1 in 4.

Dallas Anderson is one of the people trying to make a difference in prison ministry on a national level. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), Anderson is interim director of The Institute for Prison Ministries, based at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois. He also works with programs such as Operation Starting Line, a multi-million dollar evangelism project begun in April of 2000 and designed to bring the gospel and a discipleship program in every United States prison (1,800 in all).

Anderson, like many Christians working in prison ministry, argues that bringing Christ to prisoners is more necessary than ever - that a conversion experience in prison will transform a person as nothing else can. But some are less convinced that saving souls automatically saves prisoners. Todd Clear, a teacher at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, studied 380 convicts released from 20 prisons around the country. After interviewing them in 1990-91 and again in 1997-98, he found that religious faith made little difference in whether an ex-convict ended up back in prison.

Anderson is unfazed by the skeptics, although he believes that future prison ministries will impact people more by adding a larger dosage of discipleship and training to the gospel message. He hopes Operation Starting Line is a positive model for this process.

"It's not just an evangelistic campaign, it's an extensive follow-up and discipleship campaign," said Anderson of Operation Starting Line. "The goal is to strengthen the church inside the walls and outside the walls and we want to connect with (local) churches. And we're being asked to give help to the evangelism aspect of that project, so we're training volunteers and platform guests and preachers in evangelism. And it's very committed to taking the new converts and walking them through a commitment time and the discipleship phases. There's even a seminary working with them inside the prison walls."

More information about Operation Starting Line can be found on the Internet at: www.operationstartingline.com. To find out more about Covenanters doing prison ministry, check the September 2001 edition of "The Covenant Companion."

Printable version of this page.