Ricky Smith is the prison team director at Rock City Church in Hilliard, Ohio. He has been serving those impacted by incarceration since volunteering with his parents as a young adult.
When I [Ricky Smith] moved to Hilliard, Ohio, I got plugged into a local church, and they didn’t have a prison team. I actually thought that was a little weird since every church I attended as a kid into my teen years had an active prison ministry.
People sometimes feel like they need to have some special calling. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25, “I was in prison and you came to visit Me ... whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”
Normalizing prison ministry is something that I’m constantly trying to figure out in my current role. I have found Prison Fellowship® Angel Tree to be a really good way to engage families or potential volunteers who don’t actively serve on our prison team.
Every dollar makes a difference. With as little as $5, you can reach prisoners and their families with the life-transforming hope of Jesus. Will you give a gift today?
Tina’s homelife was troubled as a child, and she ended up in a number of unhealthy and abusive relationships. At one point, she found herself going to prison for involuntary manslaughter. Read her story to see how God freed her of shame to serve Him.
POV: Volunteering in Prison
At a Prison Fellowship Hope Event in California, it was evident God was working. One volunteer said she felt like she was invited into the prisoners’ church to see what the Lord is doing on the inside. Watch two women share what it’s like to volunteer behind bars.
