Ohio church reaches out in ministry to community correctional facility

Franklin Furnace, Ohio

Thursday, April 8, 2010

For the past seven years, Plymouth Heights Church of the Nazarene in Franklin Furnace, Ohio, has been actively ministering to the STAR Community Justice Center.

STAR is a community-based correctional facility that implements therapeutic community as a structure for rehabilitation. The population of male and female non-violent offenders from nine surrounding counties experience structure, therapy, advocacy, and restitution during their stay at the facility.

Plymouth Heights Church facilitates two to three Sunday worship services a month for all residents. Furthermore, a weekly Bible study for new and growing Christians is offered for both men and women to provide opportunities for discipleship and encouragement. Lay pastor Frank Stidham leads the worship and preaching teams consisting of 12 members, along with scheduling all services in which the Plymouth Heights Church is involved.

"In the seven years we have been affiliated with STAR there has been literally hundreds come to faith in Christ, many of whom have sensed a call to ministry in their own communities after returning home," said Tim Throckmorton, pastor of Plymouth Heights Church.

In addition to the ministries offered by the church for the residents of STAR, the church also helped to obtain a grant from a renowned charitable organization in Ohio to facilitate post release programs in the nine counties STAR serves. According to Throckmorton, those programs, along with the church involvement in the lives of STAR's residents has created a much lower rate of recidivism for STAR than for the average facility in Ohio.

To download this video, click here.
--Tim Throckmorton, Plymouth Heights Church pastor, via NCN News submissions

 

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