Training Path Forward

The Path Forward prison ministry volunteers are often asked to engage in this ministry with little or no experience or exposure to the culture or environment. Although prison ministry shares many similarities with other ministries, it is also uniquely different.

Members of this population:

Have been alienated from friends and family. Past actions have eroded many relationships.
Have been living in a way that is in contradiction to Biblical mandates.
Can be leery other’s intent, including ministry volunteers, due to previous unhealthy relationships.
Are emotionally immature and incapable of coping rationally with problems. Some have even learned that drugs and alcohol temporarily solve their physical and emotional problems, so they avoid need to deal with painful, difficult decisions.

The Path Forward staff members, board of directors and affiliates utilize evidence-based practices, participatory action research (PAR) and other innovative programmatic models to train volunteers to be more effective in their work.

The Path Forward team is available to speak to congregations, community organizations and businesses regarding the correctional system, faith-based approaches and evidence-based strategies.