Jail Ministry Experiences
Riek & Bert Tameling
Riek’s Experience:
Bert and I have always strived to be actively involved in our church community and the many ministry opportunities it has to offer. But jail ministry was one thing I wasn’t sure I wanted to become involved with. My first encounter with jail ministry began about 15 years ago when I heard about about the Crossroads Bible Institute.
The Crossroads Bible study program is done completely by mail with no face to face contact between mentor and inmate. The lessons are completed and submitted to the mentor, whose job it is to give support and encouragement to the inmate. I found that it was a joy to help and encourage these people who were eager to learn about the word of God. While I found the “mail order” ministry rewarding, I began to feel the Spirit nudging me to meet inmates in person. I heard a chaplain from Kent County Jail speak about the need for volunteers to teach classes. I prayed, “Lord, is this your will for me to teach?” I prayed for a sign that this was the right path fo follow.
While I was observing a class, a lady asked me if I was going to teach a class. When I said I was thinking about it, she said, “I wish you would. We need it so badly.” This was my sign from God. I agreed to visit a few more sessions. On the day I returned, before I left my car, I experienced spiritual warfare. Negative thoughts flew into my head. I kept thinking, “Can I do this? Can I go into a jail, into a room full of prisoners and teach them about the Bible?” I sat there and prayed for guidance, “Lord, make me strong; give me the courage to go in there. I will go in there and do my best.” God heard my prayers and I was filled with determination to resist what was surely an attack by Satan. I firmly told him, “Get behind me, Satan; you will not stop me. I need to know if this is God’s plan for me.”
When I entered the classroom that first day, the women gave me an enthusiastic welcome. They all stood and applauded. They made me feel as though they had been waiting just for me, and waiting to hear God’s word. That clinched the deal. I was in for the long term. Their welcome was yet another sign that God had led me to this ministry. It has become one of the highlights of my experience.
Some of the women need discipline; I have to be firm, and enforce the rules. If a lady doesn’t participate, or becomes disruptive, she gets reported, which means being kicked out of class for a few weeks. One of my favorite things to do with my students is to take them through a Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Most do not believe they have any gifts, and they are thrilled to find out we are all gifted in our own special way.
To prove to one of my classes that they were, indeed, blessed with God-given talents, I assigned them the task of planning a mock fundraiser for a charity. It started out slowly, but one idea sparked another, and soon the women came up with a rainbow of ideas of what they could do and how they would organize everything. If it had been a real fundraiser, I believe it would’ve been very successful. When they completed the project, I pointed out that they had done a fine job for a group that professed to have no talent! I think it raised their self esteem by a few notches.
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Bert’s Experience
Riek blazed the trail and I followed a couple years later. I teach a class for male inmates at Kent County Jail, with an emphasis on Christian parenting. Most inmates in my classes have had less than an ideal childhood. Many had fathers who were not around. In cases where the father was involved, it was not in a good way. Since a lot of these guys have kids, they need to learn how important it is for their kids to have a good father. Three points I hammer home are:
What do we teach our kids?
Get to really know your kids. Spend time with them!
Be involved in their lives.
The men in my classes need to be shown that they don’t have to make the same mistakes their fathers made - they don’t have to perpetuate the legacy of poor parenting and neglect. I hope and pray that I am giving them the tools and the inspiration to become good parents.
During the years Riek and I have been involved in jail ministry, there have been many happy times and good outcomes, and some not so good. Sure, it takes work on our part, but it’s joyful labor because we are doing the Lord’s work. We plan the lessons and write our own material, often using one of Ron’s or Daniel’s sermons for inspiration. Our pastors’ sermons have been a great help in this regard. We both agree that ministering to the inmates is an immensely rewarding experience, one that we thank God for calling us to.
***This blog was originally written in 2015
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
- Matthew 25:36