UK Prisons Week: Thursday

To mark UK Prisons Week, our Director of Prison Ministry, Stephen James, will be sharing what a typical week looks like for him. 

On Thursdays I am involved in helping out at Vision of Hope (VoH), a working farm in Abergavenny, South Wales.

It's run by David and Dinah Samson (who I met in 1997 through Victory Outreach) and offers residential rehabilitation for those with life controlling issues. VoH gives residents a chance to break free from these issues.

The aim of VoH is to bring a sense of hope through Christ and to bring a dignity back into people's lives.

On a Thursday I visit Usk prison which is about 20 minutes from Abergavenny and after this I head over to VoH to run evening evangelistic courses with them. We usually use CEM materials or sometimes other studies from The Good Book Company. 

Each time I visit we have a catch up with how things are going and then dive into the session and its content. We have around 75 minutes together. 

It’s similar to going into prisons as most of the residents have been in prison or have experienced the same things that prisoners go through. It’s different in that we don’t have the prison bars or the prison regime to contend with. Residents are at VoH through choice and can leave at any point. 

It’s great to get to know the residents over the weeks, share my own personal success, experiences, applying the Bible text to their lives.

Keep an eye on the blog all week as we'll be sharing more about the ministry Stephen is involved in each day. 

Read more about our prison ministry