There are roughly the same amount of men and women in Washington State prisons as there are churches.

What if every church became a local reentry team—a resurrection community—walking alongside just one neighbor leaving the tombs of incarceration?

We seek to equip parishes—faith communities small or large, traditional or rag-tag—in every American town to build supportive pre-release relationships with just one person returning to their community from prison.

They build release plans together, “roll away the stones” of reentry barriers together, and discover that we belong to one another.

We believe this could empty the prison system over time. And transform each community.

Tell us about your church, parish, or community group. Let’s take the next steps together.

ONE PARISH ONE PRISONER pairs your congregation with someone releasing to your area and guides your 7-person team (including the pastor) through a two-year journey of relationship-building, release planning and holistic reentry support together.

Authentic Relationship

A local church community, gathered in the name of forgiveness and resurrection, has everything a releasing person might need to rebuild a new life: trusting friendship and community, pre-release housing searches, rides to appointments, job connections, funds to pay off stranglehold fines and get a driver’s license, hope.

Mutual Transformation

Just as importantly, this relationship would transform every church. Accompanying one person out of the underground reveals the wounds in the wider community—and often uncovers those hidden inside the church as well.

Parish Team

ONE PARISH ONE PRISONER pairs your congregation with someone releasing to your area and guides your 7-person team (including the pastor) through a two-year journey of relationship-building, release planning and holistic re-entry support together.

Healing & Integration

We believe this gets at the roots of mass incarceration today: by embracing the people and parts of ourselves we fear, we quickly discover that we need—and belong—to each other. And we stop throwing people away.

First, tell us a little about your church/congregation/community in this brief interest form (you’ve scrolled past a few times). There’s zero commitment. Simply click below to get on our radar and we’ll get in touch with you.

Second—as you await our reply—share this page here (oneparishoneprisoner.org) with others in your congregation. Then take some time to learn about your next steps by clicking below. In this process of discernment, your community is already “approaching the tombs.” Feel free to pass these details along to your pastor and/or leadership team to jumpstart the conversation.