wfn.org | Taiwan’s prison ministries’ full of stories of struggles and triumphs

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3031 Edition

>March 29~April 4, 2010

Taiwan’s prison ministries’ full of stories of struggles  and triumphs

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

The death penalty and whether or not it should be abolished has  been a subject 
of fierce

debate and controversy in Taiwan in recent weeks. The issue has  never really 
been

scrutinized before – until recently. Taiwan Church News will do  an extensive 
report on this

issue as it develops, but the issue has also prompted us to take a  look at 
prison ministries

and how they are doing in reaching out to inmates and transforming  their lives.

According to Taiwan’s Department of Justice statistics, only  1% of inmates are 
Christians.

The good news is, recidivism among Christians is merely 5%, in  contrast to 40% 
among

ordinary inmates. These figures demonstrate the importance of  prison 
ministries, their

effectiveness and their contributions to Taiwanese society.

There are already a few organizations involved in prison  ministries, but is 
there something that

Christians as individuals can do to reach out to inmates or  ex-convicts? In 
the spirit of Easter,

it is good to consider how Christians might help inmates transform  and start a 
new life.

Prison Fellowship Taiwan was founded on September 29, 1981 by a  retired prison 
warden

supervisor in Ilan. After serving more than 20 years as head of  prison 
wardens, Lu Kuo-dong

was once asked if locking up prisoners was an effective means to  save them, 
and whether

he’d seen any prisoner transformed as a result of living  behind bars.

This question reverberated in Lu’s heart for a long time and  it dawned on him 
that prisons

shouldn’t exist merely to punish offenders, but rather, serve  as a place where 
they can be

transformed and redeemed. However, Lu was also aware that only the  gospel could

accomplish the daunting task of transforming a life, and only  faith in Christ 
could guide a

>person out of darkness and into the light.

This realization prompted Lu to start “Prison  Fellowship” upon his retirement. 
Besides

organizing evangelistic meetings in prisons across Taiwan, Lu also  recruited 
10 ministers to

work as permanent volunteer ministers at various prisons across  Taiwan and the 
ministry

>grew steadily from then on.

Prison Fellowship welcomed a new leader in 1988 when Rev. Huang  Ming-chen 
assumed the

position of chair of Prison Fellowship. It currently has 16  branches across 
Taiwan and more

than 80 full-time staff members and 100 volunteers all over  Taiwan.

Halfway houses serves as shining examples of Christian influence

Lanyang Presbyterian Church has been supporting a local halfway  house for a 
long time.

Besides supporting this center financially, it has also  participated in its 
management and daily

operations. Lanyang Church’s contributions have garnered  praise from local 
authorities in the

>justice department.

The halfway house was funded by an association reaching out to  present and 
former inmates

around Ilan area (located in the northeastern region of Taiwan)  and entrusted 
to the care of

Prison Fellowship, Ilan branch. After Prison Fellowship presented  its ministry 
in the halfway

house to Lanyang Church, church members became actively involved  in reaching 
out to former

>inmates living there.

According to one church member, halfway houses exist to help  former inmates 
learn how to

reconcile with society, their own families, victims, and God in a  spirit of 
truth and sincerity.

Residents in this halfway house usually gather after dinner every  night for a 
time of devotional

and reading the Bible. They also use this time to share about  challenges they 
encountered

during the day while working or looking for work. Finally,  everyone prays 
together for guidance

>and strength to face the next day.

Managing a halfway house is no easy task, says Pastor Hong  Ching-chao, who 
works for

Prison Ministries in Pingtung. “The key is being able to  relate on a deeper 
level with the

>struggles of former inmates,” he said.

Hong emphasized that if a halfway house has great infrastructure  or 
facilities, but lacks people

genuinely concerned for former inmates, a good facility is  useless. However, 
enlisting well-

meaning volunteers willing to spend long hours talking with former  inmates 
isn’t enough if

volunteers can’t truly empathize or relate with the plight of  former inmates.

Hong also highlighted that it’s highly probable for former  inmates to repeat a 
crime if

circumstances, culture, or people tempt them to get into trouble  again. That 
is why it’s

imperative that former inmates find someone empathetic that they  can confide 
in so that they

aren’t tempted to sin and fall back into destructive old  habits.

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