One way to stay in touch with us is through our Email Newsletter. These usually go out once a month with updates on our church events and perspectives from staff and leaders. We would love to keep in touch with you too!
About Prison Ministry
CBC Prison Ministry takes the Word of Christ into prisons. We guide the chapel services, preach sermons, teach Bible studies, do individual counseling, and go in the prison hospital. We also teach pre-release seminars, with the goal of reducing the recidivism rate (percentage of prisoners that return to prison). We seek to equip the prisoners who are believers and whose lives have been transformed to bring as many as possible to Christ.
What is a prison visit like?
CBC Volunteers that go into prisons make a one-year, once-a-month commitment to be discipled by the prison chaplain to actually become state prison chaplains themselves. As chaplains, we have opportunities to be in charge of the chapel services on each yard. We council and encourage inmates, bring them to Christ, teach (preach) sermons if we want, teach Bible studies, go cell-to-cell in Administrative Segregation (the hole), go cell to cell in the prison hospital, and other related chapel duties. The main priorities are to equip the believing inmates to witness to the rest of the prison population, and to teach practical lessons that will reduce recidivism. 85% of men released from California prisons are back in prison within 3 years. Those going through Prison Fellowship programs are blessed by the Lord, and only 20% return to prison!
Getting Involved with CBC Prison Ministry
Getting involved is simple; pray and ask the Lord if He is directing you towards prison ministry, whether by going inside the prisons, or serving outside with the Angel Tree program. If you are called to go inside, contact Bill and he will start your gate clearance process. A huge percentage of the people who have volunteered with CBC Prison Ministry say that this ministry has been life changing.
We like volunteers going into prison to make a one-year, once-a-month commitment. This is to help the state as they spend some money doing background checks and clearing people who are not committed. Of course if someone finds out they are unable to continue coming for any reason, we understand. The Angel Tree volunteers do not necessarily go into the prisons, they are working to help the children of prisoners get a Christmas present, start coming to church, and break the bondage of following family members into the same behaviors and even into prison.