Servant Leadership in Prison Ministry: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Improve Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, and Ministry Content

Abstract

This ministry portfolio contains information about my life, context, philosophy of leadership, and Doctor of Ministry research project. The title of that project was “Revitalizing our Ministry to Prisoners and Returned Citizens by Using Appreciative Inquiry to Improve Volunteer Recruitment, Retention and Ministry Content.” It was a project based on Participatory Action Research principles, and it was conducted at Ottawa Seventh-day Adventist Church (OSDAC). Appreciative Inquiry was the research method. Thirteen people were involved in the project, including two former prisoners, seven prison ministry volunteers, a former prison chaplain, an attorney, a therapist, and myself. The project results included an intake package for new recruits based on Robert Greenleaf’s concept of Servant Leadership and the Bible passages it was founded on. Relational connections made with prisoners and ex-offenders were found to be a leading factor in the retention of volunteers. A Bible-based twelve-steps program, designed for use in prison ministry, was incorporated into the materials the ministry used in outreach to prisoners and former inmates. We also learned that fear was a significant barrier to some people volunteering with the prison ministry. In response, a tool to identify one’s implicit bias was adopted into our volunteer training. There were some issues that we were unable to address, including concerns about ex-offenders becoming church members and volunteering at OSDAC. Developing resources to meet the needs of prisoners and ex-offenders that were identified during the research project was acknowledged as an important next step.