|
What do you want to be when you grow up? A prisoner? |
|
No child grows up wanting to be a prisoner. Yet, on any given day in America, 2.3 million individuals – 1 in every hundred adults – is behind bars. The U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics show that 70% of the children of incarcerated parents will follow their parents’ example and will be incarcerated. Generational incarceration and a 67% recidivism rate (released prisoners returning to prison) have resulted in the burgeoning numbers in U.S. prisons.
Other studies have shown that the most critical factor in reducing
recidivism is a genuine religious experience, with appropriate
discipleship. It follows that the power of the Gospel is a significant
factor in reducing the rate of second or third generation
incarceration.
It is into this world that CEF has introduced the What Went Wrong?
program. Inmates have the opportunity to enroll in the CEF Mailbox Club™
and to enroll their children, so they all receive age-appropriate Bible
study lessons by mail. Committed volunteers check the lessons, pray
for the students, and write encouraging notes to be sent back to the
students. This introduction to the life-changing Gospel of Jesus
Christ has the potential to change future generations of these
high-risk families.
Do you want to help the children of inmates? Visit our donate page and designate your gift for prisoner's children (What Went Wrong?)→
Many of the inmates themselves want to join the CEF Mailbox Club but can not. Find out why -->
|