A New Name; An Expanded Vision
In August 2008, the Board of Directors of Covenant Prison Ministries (CPM) unanimously decided that to effectively reflect its expanded vision, the ministry would take on a new name.
After 24 years of ministry, Covenant Prison Ministries has now changed its name to Safer Communities Ministry (SCM). And while the proven strategies of CPM in combating recidivism will remain unchanged, a shift has taken place in the ministry that will enable it to take its model into counties beyond Union and Mecklenburg. Safer Communities seeks to be more intentional in its efforts to engage whole communities in the effort to bring life-change to ex-offenders. The goal is to mobilize a county to address the life issues of the total person. To accomplish this, SCM offers solutions on four levels: countywide, individual partner sites, individual cases, and individual character issues: faith-based options. SCM sees the name change as a starting place for building understanding and cooperation around these efforts.
“The change in name is a statement of what this ministry has been about for over two decades,” comments CPM Founder and Executive Director Al Lewis, Jr. “And it is a statement of what every citizen desires: a safer community.”
Fundraising
SAFER COMMUNITIES MINISTRY'S
24th ANNIVERSARY
FUND RAISING & VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION BANQUET
Mark your calendars & Call 704-283-3573 today for Reservations
On Saturday May 9, 2009 at 6 pm, we will have our 24th Anniversary Fund Raising/Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, WT Harris Blvd at Hickory Grove Rd, Charlotte, NC. Our keynote speaker is Rev. Mike Whitson, Pastor of First Baptist Church Indian Trail.
One Ex-Offender’s Story
Through the years, Safer Communities Ministry (formerly Covenant Prison Ministries) has collected scores of testimonies of ex-offenders who have found new, productive lives beyond their mistakes. The challenge of life-long change is neither quick nor easy. But -- as one prisoner named Scott found -- personal motivation to change, together with step-by-step guidance and support, transforms people. He knows because his own life has been transformed. Here’s how the Safer Communities Ministry (SCM) team tells Scott’s story.
Tommy Belk, Lee Little, Clara Summerford,
Al Lewis and Terry Merrit
Building Your Own Safer Community
Change is coming. And our hearts can be encouraged that this change is good. It will affect hundreds of thousands of individual lives; as a result, it has the power to forever alter our culture.
Earlier this year in Washington, DC a significant piece of legislation was signed by President Bush, called the Second Chance Act. In the September 2008 SCM newsletter, Lewis relayed the importance of this piece of legislation...