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Inner City Women's Ministry International has been watching God move in women's prisons for over 20 years, and they're inviting people to join in the ministry in Manitoba.
"It started with five inner city women meeting, and either you were working in the inner city or you lived in the inner city and we discussed the needs of women," says Shon McLaren, the cofounder of Inner City Women's Ministries International (ICWMI). "One of the needs was that we needed someone to go into the prisons and encourage the women that are there."
The ICWMI prison ministry got going fully back in 2004, over 20 years ago.
"It's all about relationship. We want to go in and we want to help the chaplains that are there. We ask, 'What are your needs?' A lot of times it's, 'Come in, you can do a Bible study.' We work with addictions, so we work with the Life Recovery Bible. In that is the 12-step program."
One of the chaplains with ICWMI is *Emily.
"It's a joy and honour being able to go into the prisons and meet the women and hear their stories," says Emily. "Something that surprises me, is that every time I go in, the women have so much joy, even though they've had everything taken from them. I go in feeling tired and I leave, filled."
Each time a team of two go in, they start off with worship songs and then move through their Bible study. They end with a time of prayer, asking the ladies if there are any praise reports or prayer requests.
Stories of Transformation
McLaren shares that many times, after women have been released, if they attended the Bible study, they now want to give back to the ministry.
"I was talking to an ex-inmate on Monday," says McLaren. "She shared, 'Tell people that we really like people from the outside coming in. That people care or think about us.' The staff are very thankful too."
Emily has watched different women who are incarcerated soften up.
"I think the women are always surprised that we're praying for them. When we ask how we can pray for them, we share that we continue to pray for them throughout the week. And we have a team of volunteers that also pray. Many of the women are surprised that there are people praying for them."
A few women behind bars have even expressed that this time together has become their church, according to Emily.
"We've had some women come, just to be a part of something, rather than just doing nothing. At first, they're like, 'I'm not sure what this is.' After a couple months, we've had some individuals say, 'I've given my life to the Lord and this is my church family.'"
Get Involved
ICWMI has a Christmas card writing ministry. Finding paper in prison is quite difficult so their team collects unused Christmas cards and then gives them to the women so they can fill them out for their friends and families. This service is available to inmates across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
"Prayer is number one," says McLaren, addressing the question of how people can get involved. "Some other aspects, if you are a Bible believer, Christ-centred, and you're interested in prison ministry, come talk to us."
The commitment to get involved with ICWMI prison ministry is twice a month. People interested in this aspect can contact Shon McLaren.
Listen to the whole interview below.
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*Last name is anonymous to keep Emily safe.