CCU Alumnus Leads New Prison Fellowship Ministry
CCU Alumnus Nathan Jones has helped launch a new branch of ministry for Prison Fellowship Ministries. Through this new initiative Nathan is training college students on campuses throughout Colorado to go into juvenile detention centers and carry Christ's message of love and hope to incarcerated youth. The ministry teams he is assembling will reach out to inmates through Bible Studies, worship services, and mentoring.
"The strategy is to identify a student, or small group of students who have a vision for empowering college students to reach out to incarcerated youth," he said. "We then coach them in leadership skills, and help them make contacts with local service opportunities at juvenile detention centers."
After the initial teams have been formed, Nathan coaches student leaders as they develop the ministry on their campus. His long-term goal is to connect the student leaders at various schools in ongoing fellowship and training so they can be encouraged and supported by other students in similar leadership positions.
As a student at CCU, Nathan was involved in many different areas including student government, campus leadership, and campus ministries. During his Cross Cultural Communications class a guest speaker introduced Nathan to prison ministry. After that, he started CCU's Freedom ministry, which ministers through Bible studies, worship services, and other special events at prisons and juvenile detention facilities. His work while he was a student at CCU laid the foundation for this new ministry with Prison Fellowship.
"I have been able to apply much of what I learned in my experience in leadership positions I held as a CCU student as well as a lot of what I learned in my classes, to what I am doing today," he said.
Nathan believes this new Prison Fellowship ministry is effective because it gives students the opportunity to minister to a group of people they might not otherwise interact with. It is impacting both the students who are ministering as well as the prisoners they are working with.
"The students are being stretched and strengthened in their relationships with Christ. They're putting faith into action," he said. "Those in prison are being infected with the love of Christ, and are turning from their lives of crime to lives of freedom as a result."
"The strategy is to identify a student, or small group of students who have a vision for empowering college students to reach out to incarcerated youth," he said. "We then coach them in leadership skills, and help them make contacts with local service opportunities at juvenile detention centers."
After the initial teams have been formed, Nathan coaches student leaders as they develop the ministry on their campus. His long-term goal is to connect the student leaders at various schools in ongoing fellowship and training so they can be encouraged and supported by other students in similar leadership positions.
As a student at CCU, Nathan was involved in many different areas including student government, campus leadership, and campus ministries. During his Cross Cultural Communications class a guest speaker introduced Nathan to prison ministry. After that, he started CCU's Freedom ministry, which ministers through Bible studies, worship services, and other special events at prisons and juvenile detention facilities. His work while he was a student at CCU laid the foundation for this new ministry with Prison Fellowship.
"I have been able to apply much of what I learned in my experience in leadership positions I held as a CCU student as well as a lot of what I learned in my classes, to what I am doing today," he said.
Nathan believes this new Prison Fellowship ministry is effective because it gives students the opportunity to minister to a group of people they might not otherwise interact with. It is impacting both the students who are ministering as well as the prisoners they are working with.
"The students are being stretched and strengthened in their relationships with Christ. They're putting faith into action," he said. "Those in prison are being infected with the love of Christ, and are turning from their lives of crime to lives of freedom as a result."