Sharing God’s Word
J.A.I.L. Ministry Inc. provides outreach to inmates in bell county and beyond
By Amy Rognlie | Photos courtesy of J.A.I.L. MINISTRY INC.
J.A.I.L. Ministry, Inc. (Jesus Acts in Inmates Lives Ministry) was begun by Chaplain Harold Ellis in 1987. While there were various prison ministries across the nation at the time, an organized county jail ministry was unheard of. J.A.I.L. Ministry was to be local to Bell County and led by a board of directors to develop an extensive base of volunteers with the goal of sharing the gospel message with Bell County inmates and their families.
From that humble beginning and huge vision, J.A.I.L. Ministry now serves thousands of inmates not only in Bell County, but across the nation. Currently, Bell County averages upwards of 1,300 jail inmates on a given day in all facilities and a new addition is currently under construction that will add 715 beds to the total capacity.
Led by director Steve Cannon since 2003, the ministry is making a huge impact in the community. Over the years churches, businesses, community leaders, families and individuals have served to bring lasting change in the lives of those who need it by providing up to 40 non-denominational nightly Bible studies for men and women inmates each week, as well as one-on-one encouragement as requested by inmates and seven scheduled non-denominational Saturday church services each week. The ministry also provides such services as death notifications to inmates in regard to family members, an approved anger resolution course with completion certificate accepted by probation, as well as Bibles, Christian books, reading material and glasses by request of inmates. Study courses such as Life Skills Quest for Authentic Manhood, and Spiritual Mechanics of Recovery are also available as well as Write Way and Crossroads Correspondence Bible Study Courses for Inmates.
The pandemic created even greater opportunity for ministry when the staff had to get creative. “When COVID hit, our staff and volunteers were not able to go into the jails and minister. God said, ‘COVID, let Me show you what I can do with that!’” Cannon says. Undeterred by the many obstacles facing them, the ministry team began recording video podcast Bible studies at the J.A.I.L. Ministry office in Belton. The podcasts were then uploaded and made available to Bell County Jail inmates through their inmate tablets. All of a sudden, J.A.I.L. Ministry was back in the jail with recorded inmate Bible studies, but God wasn’t done yet. About two months down the road, Cannon learned that Securus had added the ministry’s podcasts to their entire catalog, which means they are now available to over 390,000 inmate tablets in 42 states.
Besides the podcasts, J.A.I.L. Ministry Radio has been broadcasting 24/7 since 2012. The radio station is accessible to all inmates in Bell County and in 24 other states and over 10,000 inmate tablets. Cannon, a former disc jockey, also hosts a popular live radio program every Thursday, “Get Back with Your Bad Self” with co-hosts Johner Martin and Melvin Gooden. The show receives letters from inmates all across the country each week with programming garnering over 20,000 hits a month.
But the ministry extends far beyond inmate services to include law enforcement officers, and families of both victims and inmates as well as the general public. Services include confidential chaplain services for Bell County law enforcement officers and on-call chaplains for critical incidents; as well as rescue, recovery, murder/suicide, and family notification in conjunction with Bell County officers. The J.A.I.L ministry staff also coordinates the Project Angel Tree Program to provide Christmas gifts for children of inmates.
“I’m always reminded of an old Joe South song, Walk A Mile in My Shoes, because that’s what J.A.I.L. Ministry does. We make a difference one person at a time,” Cannon says. “Perhaps it is with an inmate that just received his sentence, perhaps a correctional officer that’s having trouble at home, it could be a mother whose son or daughter is in jail for the first time, or maybe with a group of deputies or other law enforcement officers that just experienced a traumatic event. In the various aspects of the ministry, I always want the public to know through their support, they are with us as we minster to the least of these.”
GET INVOLVED
Website: http://www.jailmin.org
Phone: 254-933-8506
Office: 211 E. Central Ave., Belton
