‘They don’t build no schools anymore, all they build is prison, prison’ – An Examination of the Reception of the Church of Pentecost’s Involvement in Prison Reformation in Ghana

Abstract

The church's mission (Missio Ecclesia) is to positively impact lives by bringing transformation to man and their environment. The Missio Ecclesia seeks to bring man back to God, acknowledging that, irrespective of man’s situation, every human has a part of God (Imago Dei). The early European Missionary enterprise in Africa, therefore, in an attempt to attain the church's mission, built social amenities like schools and hospitals as an evangelistic strategy. In modern times, the Church of Pentecost (CoP) has adopted prison reforms as one of its evangelistic strategies. Ministry to the marginalised, like prisoners, has a long Christian history as a targeted ministry of restoring the image of God in man. Adopting a historical lens, the paper traces the roots of prison ministry from early Christianity through the African missionary endeavours of the 15th century. Through a mixed method approach, this paper constructs the motivation of the CoP’s initiative to establish camp prisons as Inmate Skill Acquisition and Reformation Centres (ISARC) in Ghana. The paper identifies through interviews decongestion, biblical mandate, and reformation as the main push factors for the CoP in this initiative. The findings illuminate the positive impact of the CoP’s prison reform initiative while highlighting the need for sustained efforts, intentional support, and comprehensive reintegration programmes to ensure long-term success and societal benefits.