Centre for Offender Transformation - Overview

 It is the ‘go to’ place for national ministries.  Prison Fellowship International has launched the Centre for Offender Transformation (COT) as an information centre for PF programmes and best practices that will serve to enhance the leadership and effectiveness of all PF national ministries.

 “The purpose of our new Centre for Offender Transformation will be to collect and develop world-class resources for the use of our 113 national affiliates and, more broadly, for the church and criminal justice community,” said PFI President Ron Nikkel.

 “By focusing PFI’s services through the Centre for Offender Transformation, the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, and the Institute for Leadership Formation, we will be able to provide national ministries with more relevant and specialized ministry and programme information and technical support to meet their needs.  National ministries and Regional Leadership Teams will have direct access to each of these Centres,” wrote Michael Timmis, Board of Directors Chairman, and Ian Elliott, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 

Under the leadership of Peter Walker, previously Executive Director of PF England and Wales and PFI’s Regional Envoy for Western Europe, the COT will gather information, synthesize the data and create a “data store” of ideas, products, programmes and best practices.  The centre will also serve to promote and offer policy guidelines for these programmes.  Nelly Arbanil de Devia, formally PFI’s Latin America Service Director, will serve in the new COT team. 

 At the heart of the PFI’s newest Centre is transformation—of the offender, and of all those whom the offender has impacted: his or her children, family, victims, and the community.  The Centre will feature programmes such as Angel Tree®.  “From scripture studies to micro-enterprise programmes, from pre-release preparation to family support, the good news is that there are effective interventions that make a real difference in the lives of offenders and those around them,” Ron explained. 

Once established, all PF national ministries will use the COT’s data store as a primary resource for implementing programmes and events.  The data store will initially include resources in the following areas:

•  Ministry in Prison

Faith formation: discipleship, scripture study

Educational programmes: vocational training, prison libraries, art programmes, health programmes

Thematic programmes: issues related to foreign prisoners

• Ministry to Ex-Prisoners

Reintegration: accommodation, employment, aftercare, legal support, mentoring

Faith development: introduction to a new church

• Ministry to Prisoners’ Families

Caring for children and spouses, marriage enrichment, social action

While COT’s primary purpose is to serve national PF ministries, it will also serve as a launching pad for those seeking to learn more about PFI by offering an easily accessible database of information for the church, the criminal justice community, media, and NGOs. 

 "Prison Fellowship now has nearly thirty years of experience in prison ministry throughout the world," said Ron.  "The time has come for us to consolidate what we have learned about effective strategies and methods of working with prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families.”

 As with PFI’s Centre for Justice and Reconciliation and the Institute for Leadership Formation, the Centre for Offender Transformation is available to all national ministries as a resource. 

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