Our mission is to provide Christ-centered hope and healing through biblically-based, chaplain led, volunteer jail ministries. Our vision is for every incarcerated person to experience new life in Christ and develop healthy family, church, and community relationships.
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Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry partners with Our Daily Bread to distribute a version of the popular Our Daily Bread devotional that was specially designed and curated for men and women in jail. The needs of people in jail are different because of the stress and sense of hopelessness that many people experience during incarceration. This partnership helps restore peace and hope.
Crossroads Prison Ministries and Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry have had a long standing relationship as we both began our work in the Kent County Correctional Facility. In 2020, RTF began a pilot partnership with Crossroads to begin using their correspondence Bible courses and mentoring program. This partnership provides mutual discipleship for mentors and students.
Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry began using the Life Recovery Bible in jails in 2018 after realizing that men and women in jails need a readable version of the Bible that helps them apply the truth of Scripture and reflect on how addictions prevent people from living an abundant life in Christ and engage the recovery process from a biblical perspective. This partnership frees inmates from the bondage of addiction through God’s Word.
Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry began a partnership with Ameelio in 2020 in order to grow our remote ministry program ARM (Authentic Remote Ministry). Ameelio is a unique company which uses technology to allow RTF volunteers to send a virtual letter that is then securely printed and mailed to an assigned county inmate. This partnership will help the inmates during these constantly changing times of increased isolation.
Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry focuses on ministering to inmates in Michigan county jails.
In Michigan, every county has a jail that is operated by the local sheriff's department correctional staff. A jail is a place where inmates are staying until they are sentenced or if they are sentenced for less than one year for their crime. Prisons, on the other hand, are for inmates that have been sentenced for a year or more.
This distinction between jails and prisons is important because inmates that are in jail face a lot of uncertainty. Many of them anxiously wait for their legal process to unfold so they know how long they will be locked up. Those who do know their sentence and remain in jail are often thinking about what they will do when they get out of jail. In jail ministry, we reach people that are often at their lowest point. Many inmates cry out to God and appreciate having a chaplain, volunteers, and God's word to help them get their life back on track.
Reach the Forgotten is a multi-denominational Christian ministry that is made up of Christian churches from local communities. We refer service for inmates that request clergy support from other faiths.
The best way is to get in touch with the RTF chaplain from your county.