Joy for Life in Prison

In 2002 a prison officer in Lancashire, England found out about ‘Joy for Life‘ and the series headed ‘Real Women’ which tackles the story of 29 women in the Bible with life application for women of today. It tackles women’s subjects and many are related to troubled women, like prostitution; rape; forgiveness for abusers; resentment; how to choose a Boaz rather than a Bozo…! childlessness; and favouritism of children and many more. The chaplaincy department of that prison enabled the start of a ‘Joy for Life‘ group and the clients chose to commit for twelve weeks and received a certificate at the completion of the course. Since then two volunteers attended the prison for two years. There were many fruitful relationships made with so many girls recognising their need to establish their lives on the Word of God and the power of speaking the Word over themselves and their situations. We know that for many ‘Joy for Life‘ was the help they needed and a lifeline to keep hold of Jesus.

The prison was then changed to a male prison so the work stopped for 12 months.

This work was started again in a female prison community in Surrey, England, once again through the chaplaincy department. This progressed to three volunteers running two groups in separate parts of the prison on a weekly basis doing various ‘Joy for Life‘ studies. This continues to depend on the availability of volunteers and the long term plans of Chaplaincy. The women attend voluntarily for three hours so the time is left up to the leader depending on the needs of the girls but always the focus is centrally on the Word of God and walking with Jesus. This is very rewarding work as the women see that we are committed to their spiritual growth and we share Jesus’ total and all-consuming love. The girls are encouraged to remember that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more and nothing we have done that makes Him love us less.

If you want more information about this ministry don’t hesitate to email admin@joyforlife.org