Hi, I’m glad you’re here.

Welcome to The Call to Corrections Ministry—Light in Locked Places.

Let me start with a story.

Meet Brian.

Brian never imagined stepping inside a prison—not as an inmate, not as an employee, and certainly not as a chaplain. He was a faithful Christian, a Sunday School teacher, a father of three. His life revolved around church, family, and a quiet community.

But one afternoon at a men’s retreat, something shifted.

The speaker was a former inmate turned evangelist. His testimony shook the room. He talked about years in solitary confinement… desperate nights… voices in the dark… and one prison chaplain who never stopped showing up.

Then he said a line Brian couldn’t forget:

“Jesus came to me wearing a badge and a Bible. I don’t know where I’d be without that chaplain.”

Brian couldn’t let it go.

That week he started researching prison ministry. The need overwhelmed him—so many incarcerated, so many without consistent spiritual care. And then he opened Scripture with new eyes.

Jesus said in Matthew 25, “I was in prison, and you came to me.”

Brian had to ask himself:
Is that a metaphor… or a mandate?

Over the next few months, Brian began volunteering through his church. He brought donated books to the county jail. He sat in on Bible studies behind razor wire. And what surprised him wasn’t fear.

It was need.

The spiritual hunger was palpable.

One night, after a difficult conversation with a young man facing life without parole, Brian sat in his car and wept. He didn’t feel capable. He wasn’t trained. He wasn’t a counselor. But something deeper stirred.

He prayed:
“Lord, if this is what You’re calling me to, I will go. Just show me how.”

That’s when he discovered Christian Leaders Institute.

Brian enrolled in Chaplaincy Foundations, and then continued with specialized training in Corrections Chaplaincy.He learned trauma-informed care, spiritual authority, boundaries, confidentiality—what it really means to minister in locked places.

And most importantly, he grew in the calling.

Because corrections ministry isn’t mainly about fixing people.
It’s about showing up.
Listening.
**Being present—**so the Holy Spirit can work.

Months later, Brian stood in the prison chapel. He had completed his training. He was ordained through the Christian Leaders Alliance. The men called him “Pastor B.”

He still wasn’t perfect—
but he was present.

And that is the heart of corrections ministry.

Not to be the hero.
But to be the witness.

To walk through the gates with the presence of Christ…
and to remind every soul behind bars: God has not forgotten you.

The Bible is filled with stories of God meeting people in confinement.

Joseph—falsely accused—rose to leadership through prison.
Jeremiah spoke truth from a dungeon.
Paul and Silas sang hymns in chains.
And Jesus Himself was arrested, mocked, and condemned like a criminal.

God does not avoid prison cells.
He enters them.

And Scripture calls us to remember those who are bound. Hebrews 13 says,
“Remember those in bonds, as if bound with them.”

So if you feel that quiet stirring… don’t dismiss it.

There is no single mold for a corrections chaplain.
Some are former inmates—redeemed and sent back with hope.
Some are pastors—called from pulpits to cellblocks.
Some are retired leaders—discovering a fresh mission.
Some are ordinary volunteers—simply willing to go where others won’t.

But one thing unites them all:

Christ calls.

And He often calls quietly—through a Scripture you can’t shake… a need you can’t ignore… a compassion that won’t go away.

So let me ask you:

Where has God met you in your own “locked places”?
Where have you felt bound… and found freedom?
Because often, the places where we were once most broken… become the places God uses us most.

And maybe—just maybe—
someone behind those bars will hear the Gospel because you brought it.

Welcome to The Call to Corrections Ministry.
This is your first step toward becoming a bearer of light in locked places.


Last modified: Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 2:15 PM