To many who consider themselves ‘religious,’ the full extent of an active practice of faith starts and ends with a visit to their house of worship for a weekly service.  But to a dedicated niche of society, church is the spout—granting the motive and initiative to spread the message as far as possible.

Since the 1960s, it has become commonplace for Evangelical Christians to step outside the walls of the church and inside the walls of prison, looking to convert men from a life of crime to a life that honors God.   These missionaries bring both their personal experiences and the Bible as ammunition to convince these societal outcasts that lives are not defined until the very end.   Upon questioning, the visitors cite a few passages from Matthew 25:  “’I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was in prison and you came to visit me’, Jesus said. … When the people gathered asked how they had done these things, Jesus had a simple response. ‘Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

These “least” which are incarcerated today are most analogous to the lepers of Jesus' time.  In a society that has little issue with labeling and compartmentalizing, a vocal sector espouses that time spent with offenders is time wasted.  And there are numbers to support.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 67% of inmates are re-arrested within three years post-release.

But according to a study conducted by the Institute for Prison Ministries at the Billy Graham Center, the recidivism rate for Christian ex-offenders (inmates who experience a genuine conversion during their period of incarceration) is cut nearly in half, to 35-40%.  The study also claims a 10-15% recidivism rate for Christian ex-offenders who are regularly mentored post-release.

“Inmates understand, to a greater depth than your average citizen, your average person, that they are sinners,” says Dale Glading.  “That what they’ve tried, the path they’ve taken in life, hasn’t worked.”

Glading founded the Saints Prison Ministry in 1987, taking the unique approach of using athletics to connect with the inmates in order to erase some of the emotional barriers before preaching the Gospel.  That year, the Saints played five games at four different prisons in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area.   In the two plus decades since, the Saints have grown into the largest athletic prison ministry in the nation.  Ten different teams play 4 sports, and combined they have traveled to 340 unique institutions in 25 states and Canada.  Over 300,000 inmates have attended the games, and over 21,000 inmates have made professions of faith.