Jack* sat in a group of men. He tried to draw a picture of the horrific things he’d seen and experienced—the things he’d done. The things that landed him in prison. He scratched at his paper with a pencil, leaving a crude sketch of the pain he held inside him. As he’d done many nights, he returned to his bunk, curled up into the fetal position, and cried till morning. He cried quietly, afraid to show raw emotion among the other inmates.

Just weeks later, Jack slept through the night for the first time in years.

“I actually feel giddy in freedom,” Jack says. “I have not ever felt this free from pain in my life. Jesus has taken it all.”

Jack participated in Bible-based trauma healing ministry, which uses Scripture and art therapy to help hurting individuals bring their pain and struggle into the light of God’s Word. It promotes dialogue among suffering people and helps them commune with God. They experience the healing only Christ can offer. Jesus turned Jack’s tears into joy.

Although Jack’s healing journey began in sorrow, it ends in celebration. Praise God! Thank you for praying for Jack and other hurting people like him.

Bible-based Trauma Healing Launches in Prisons Across U.S.

This fall, Jack participated in the first men’s trauma healing group in prison, which met in a correctional facility in Omaha, Nebraska.

Thanks to partnership between American Bible Society and Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, Bible-based trauma healing ministry is spreading to prisons across the United States. Through this life-changing ministry more prisoners can experience the healing power of God’s Word.

Bible-based trauma healing is critical for America’s prison system. Around 75% of the men and 97% of the women in our nation’s jails and prisons have experienced serious trauma, a primary catalyst leading to incarceration. By having their hearts healed through the truths of Scripture, these men and women experience new love, joy, and freedom in Jesus Christ.

“The men began to open up the very first class and share deep long-held wounds,” says Joy Stevens, a prison chaplain and Bible-based trauma healing facilitator. “The Kleenex box was shooting around the room and the men shed deep, unashamed tears…We all knew that God had been revealing truth in our midst.”

We want to thank God for healing the deep emotional and spiritual wounds of inmates through Bible-based trauma healing ministry, and we pray that he will continue to heal hearts as this ministry expands.

Prayer of Thanks

Father, we thank you for the healing and freedom these men in Omaha experienced in the first Bible-based trauma healing group held in a prison. We pray for more lives to be healed and transformed as the ministry is shared in more prisons and jails.

*Name changed to protect identity.