Brand 316 | A Christian Ministry
Real World Solutions for the Formerly Incarcerated
Brand 316 is a Christ-Centered ministry providing real world solutions for the formerly incarcerated and their families to succeed in life. This includes mentorship, career training and placement, reintegration and life training support. The goal is to provide personal, professional and spiritual growth with the hopes of providing a clear path to succeed and true hope for the future. Our commitment is to train and equip the formerly incarcerated with the tools needed to succeed and grow in society through the love of Christ our Savior.
We all fall short of the Glory of God and we are all sinners. Forgiveness is rare in our culture and forgetting is almost impossible. With the ample amount of information that can be easily found online bad decisions from two years ago or twenty years ago follows a person forever. The formerly incarcerated are punished immediately with actual time spent in prison; they are then punished further by stringent probation terms limiting their relationships, movement, employment and most importantly hope for the future. After serving time in prison, then conquering probation they still have the mark of failure and distrust follow them the rest of their lives.
I am often reminded of John 8:7 where Jesus defends an adulterous woman which was punishable by death in those times. Jesus says “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” and I imagine Jesus making eye contact with each individual person. One by one, they were quickly reminded that they were in no position to judge the woman – just as we are in no position to judge the formerly incarcerated.
We all sin, we are not perfect and we all are instructed to follow in His footsteps. Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you." Forgiveness and a new beginning start with the body of Christ and can truly make generational changes in the inner cities of America.
It is our job as Christians to help those in most need, the most vulnerable. A high majority of the formerly incarcerated came from some of the worst situations you can imagine and from the inner cities of America. As Christians, we have ample resources and the opportunity to provide a new path for them which will directly impact their lives including their family, children, brothers and sisters, friends and more. There is an 85% chance that your Church is within a 30 minute drive to a major city that so desperately needs your help.
In the way God works in His Kingdom, one perfectly righteous man who was also divine, was able to die in such a way that it satisfied the debt created by our sin. “He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in His should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
It is also important to remember that Jesus was tortured, nailed to a cross and placed between two inmates. One of those inmates chose to mock Jesus while the other, facing death realized His power and publicly proclaimed it. Jesus forgave. Little is known if that inmate heard about Jesus before that day and maybe at some point he did – no one knows. The important thing is Jesus acknowledged him and told him “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Christians have to follow His example and there is a real need throughout the United States for fundamental change.
The national recidivism rate (the amount of people that were incarcerated and are rearrested) is 67%. Of those, 85% were unemployed when they were re-arrested.
The recidivism rates for the formerly incarcerated that were employed are only 9%. Your church has direct access to business owners, managers, mentors, prayer groups and people willing to mentor inmates still in prison. There are significant opportunities for you to make visible and immediate changes throughout the inner cities of America. You literally can start making a difference today.
Learn more about Brand 316!
