Today we’d like to introduce you to Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina.
Hello, Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina works inside the state’s correctional institutions and residential reentry homes. Our mission is to reduce the rate of recidivism in the state and to “yoke together” with incarcerated people to help empower them to change their lives and to emerge from incarceration better able to be successful participants in their own lives, their families, and our communities and to not return to prison. Yokefellow Prison Ministry recruits and trains an army of volunteers who deploy across the state to facilitate small group, active listening sessions where volunteers and incarcerated people can develop personal relationships where both can examine their lives and experience forgiveness, healing, and the power of God’s love. Yokefellow Prison Ministry is not a Bible study, worship service, or time for Yokefellow volunteers to teach any particular subject or lesson; these are opportunities for those under incarceration (or who have recently been released) to talk about issues that are important to them and to know that they are heard, valued as an individual and that there are people who believe in them and their ability to be successful in their lives post-prison. Yokefellow Prison Ministry currently operates in approximately half of the correctional institutions in North Carolina and 9 residential reentry homes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
It has been a challenging road. In the spring of 2020, Yokefellow Prison Ministry had active groups in approximately 67% of North Carolina’s correctional facilities and a team base of nearly 400 volunteers. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the lockdown of all correctional facilities and meant that our volunteers could not access the facilities to run meetings with the incarcerated individuals there. During this time, Yokefellow Prison Ministry took time to reevaluate our calling and what else we could do to impact the lives of those impacted by the criminal justice system. In the fall of 2021, we launched the Residential Reentry Program, which meets inside residential reentry group homes across the state. These meetings use the same Yokefellow model of ministry that has been in use in traditional prisons since 1967 but tailors it to the concerns and needs of individuals preparing to be released from incarceration and to reenter society fully. The goal is to ensure that while they receive resources for housing, employment/ education, and access to food and healthcare, there is also someone looking out for their spiritual needs and ensuring that they have a community of faith to be involved with once they are released. We want those leaving incarceration to know that they are not a “lost cause” or beyond being saved and that the grace and peace available through Jesus Christ are available to all.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Yokefellow Prison Ministry of North Carolina has worked in correctional institutions nationwide since 1969. Our mission is to reduce the rate of recidivism in the state of North Carolina and help incarcerated people come out of prison better equipped to live changed lives and make different choices that will not end with them returning to prison. We want to see Yokefellow Prison Ministry participants able to be successful, active participants in their own lives, their families, and society. What sets us apart from other prison ministries is our unique approach to connecting with and ministering to incarcerated people – Yokefellow Prison Ministry meetings are not a time for volunteers to teach or preach to incarcerated people, and our meetings are not worship services or Bible studies. Our meetings are times for incarcerated people, who have very little autonomy over themselves and their day-to-day lives, to have a forum to discuss issues that they are concerned about with a team of trained volunteers and their peers and to know that there is someone who sees, hears, and values them as individuals, that they are loved, and that there is someone – even a total stranger – who believes in their potential and ability to come out of incarceration and be successful.
So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?
People can work with Yokefellow Prison Ministry by volunteering in the prison facilities or residential reentry homes. We have a variety of locations and days/ times that meetings take place, so volunteers can choose what works for them, and they can volunteer as frequently as their schedule allows. A full list of locations with active meetings can be found at https://yokefellowprisonministry.org/who-we-serve/
People can also make a financial contribution to support the work we do. Yokefellow Prison Ministry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our support is received from donations from generous individuals, local church congregations, religious denominations, and a few foundational grants and endowments. All gifts to the Yokefellow Prison Ministry are tax-deductible; a receipt is sent for every contribution made. Financial contributions can be sent by check to PO Box 375, Goldsboro, NC 27533, or donors can make an electronic contribution via credit card or Apple Pay at https://tinyurl.com/28rf6aub.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yokefellowprisonministry.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yokefellowprisonministry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokefellow.prison.ministry.nc/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yokefellow-prison-ministry-of-nc-inc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yokefellowpris1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgyYnvGrRiDvMVggVBiyaHw
