Turning the tide of juvenile delinquency one child at a time…
For nearly 30 years, Breakaway Outreach has been offering chaplaincy services and mobilizing communities to minister to the needs of incarcerated youth and their families.
Our missions network connects caring individuals and church groups with opportunities to serve in juvenile justice ministry. We offer training and resources for volunteers to communicate the Good News of God’s unconditional love and mercy—engaging young people as they are met in a variety of youth-serving institutions (detention centers, probation, correctional facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers and emergency shelters). These valued relationships are sustained through ongoing involvement as they re-enter their communities.
Some of the ways our network has served with juvenile justice outreach:
- Chaplaincy services and volunteer training
- Training leaders to lead group Bible studies
- Sports ministries for juveniles
- Developing curriculum and discipleship resources
- Life skills training workships
- Counseling, pastoral care for families
- Mentoring relationships
- Aftercare assistance and re-entry support
- Fostering a network for resources, community involvement
- Camps and KidVenturez for younger siblings of incarcerated teens
Broken Families
Most of the kids who commit crimes suffer from the impact of a broken family, the lack of positive peers, and a cultural epidemic of violence and abandoned morals. Juvenile correctional institutions today are filled with kids from urban, suburban, and rural America.
Regardless of where kids come from, the majority of them will be going back to their communities, perhaps in your neighborhood. We can choose to discard them, but we cannot deny that Jesus Christ died for them. We must remember that those who deserve love the least need it the most!
What Do They Need?
One study indicated that 94% of incarcerated youth have never had one single positive adult male role model that was consistently present in their life! Another study indicated that 84% of the boys who become serious juvenile offenders have parents with criminal records. It is quite clear that at-risk young people are in desperate need of healthy relationships with adults.
These kids are desperate for a family, positive relationships, and godly influences in their lives. We can sit back and watch young offenders get caught up in the cycle of becoming “lifers,” or we can intervene today and help them “breakaway” from a troubled past and become socially responsible, contributing adults in our society.
We can restore hope, reshape destinies, and rewrite the stories of those who have been impeded by the chains of delinquency.
Every Youth, Every Facility
If you are interested in serving or launching a juvenile justice ministry in your area, contact us for more info about helpful resources.
What the Bible Says About Juvenile Detention Center Ministry
Breakaway Testimonies