Freedom Beyond Release

By Kimberly Rae Thigpen

“Since the 1980s, incarceration rates have risen substantially in most countries, tripling in the United States and nearly doubling in many European countries.”

Prisons are a vast and diverse mission field. Those who live in these contained sub-cultures come from different backgrounds, different levels of education, and a multitude of differing beliefs, fears, and barriers to abundant life

Source of Light is active within this tremendously large mission field. Our missionaries evangelize and disciple many, many men and women behind bars. They help them learn about Christ, come to know Christ, and then grow in Christ. Letters are sent in from prisoners, along with lessons, sharing difficulties, dangers, and regrets. They send prayer requests for upcoming parole meetings, fears of life after release, and spiritual and emotional needs as they wait.

And if released, what then? A chosen faith in Christ does not mean an immediate transfer to a lifestyle of good and godly choices.

The website, www.iwf.org, in an article about how important rehabilitation programs are, states that, “Often, former inmates find themselves in a world very different from the one they left years before. Without a job, money, or connections, it’s hard to imagine anyone truly succeeding in rebuilding their life. This is why rehabilitation programs before and after release are so important.”

Cristian Oprea, Director of Source of Light Romania (SLM Romania), along with a group of Christians from his local church, visited Codlea Prison in Romania back in 1999. They handed out enrollment coupons to inmates, and copies of “Light from the Gospel of John.” From that point, the prisoners shared the coupons with other inmates. The outreach spread, because of the frequent transfer of prisoners from one location to another. “And so,” as Cristian says, “they came to know other people, in the prison, and they gave the information about the Bible courses to others.”

That day, twenty-one years ago, was life-changing for Cristian. Since then, he has longed to create a rehabilitation program for released prisoners. The Source of Light team in Romania currently has ministries in correspondence lessons, with civilians and prisoners, and a translation ministry. His goal for the center, he states, is that it should “be started as an educational and trade site apprenticeship, where they can be trained in skills” such as tailoring, cosmetology, carpentry, plumbing, and driving.

The team would like to be able to house sixteen released inmates who have completed the Bible courses via correspondence through SLM Romania International. He plans to divide them into two tracks, where they will be taught two of the skills listed. They will also continue in Biblical classes, “for them to grow in Christian maturity, like a Bible school.” He expects rehabilitation to take around six months, or as long as needed for the participating person to be trained in their skill.

Studies, at least in the United States, show that “more than half of prisoners have been incarcerated more than once. For many people, breaking the cycle of incarceration is extremely difficult. Prison conditions and limited re-entry support, both during and after incarceration, make it very challenging to adjust to normal life.”

After all these years, no rehabilitation center has been developed for the inmates of Codlea. Released prisoners need reeducating, and a way to function again in society. Cristian says, “The main benefit of this project is their social reintegration. The second benefit is their spiritual growth and the influence which they can have in the society.”

Statistics agree that rehabilitation and reeducation works. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, “inmates who participated in correctional education programs were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years of release than those who did not participate.”

A March 2021 article by the Doha Declaration claims: “Increasingly the world over, the concept of rehabilitation is winning ground over that of punishment when dealing with prisoners. Penitentiaries around the globe are striving to effect change by providing inmates with opportunities during their sentence, so that they can more easily be reintegrated into society and become, once again, active and fulfilled members of their communities.”

However appealing the ideal sounds or the statistics claim, for many locations, rehabilitation will only happen with outside volunteers, people willing to give of their time, finances, and resources to help released prisoners. Characteristics such as compassion, integrity, and unconditional love are deeply valuable in such endeavors, and those characteristics live within each follower of Jesus Christ, as part of Christ Himself.

The Romanian team’s vision is not easy to accomplish, as proven by over twenty years of dream without reality. Though the project will benefit society and likely be appreciated, it will not be an easy or inexpensive process. “To succeed, this project needs a piece of land which must be granted by the City Hall of Brasov or Sacele, a city near Brasov,” explains Cristian. The Romanian Branch will need land, money, furniture for classrooms, materials for dormitories, etc.

For prisoners to have an option that will help them transition from the prison to outside society, and also nurture their faith in Christ, much is needed. The most important element is prayer.

Many seek to offer circumstantial solutions, but the only true solution must be an eternal one. Christ offers abundant life, not just for now, but forever. How wonderful it would be to see reformed prisoners, trained in an occupation, free from the cycle of crime and repeat incarceration, and equipped to reach others around them with the ultimate freedom of Jesus Christ.

How can God’s people pray? Cristian’s request is simple: that this project will be realized. “It is my hope to see this dream become a reality. It is my life’s project. And I am praying for this.”