Koinonia House National Ministries

KHNM House Overview

Local Post-Prison Ministry House
The full Koinonia House® National Ministries (KHNM) model.  This is the option that KHNM suggests, where it can be accomplished, and we hope some ministries that begin with a non-residential model will work up to this level.  Under this option, one to four residents live in a local post-prison ministry home under the auspices of a church or consortium of churches, with a Discipleship and Resident Director (DRD) couple, applying the following ministry components:

  • Basic physical needs (initial basic wardrobe, essential transportation)
  • Biblically based life-skills training (12-week curriculum of 1 to 2-hour sessions)
  • Active participation in a local church
  • Two mentors (spiritual & financial)
  • Host families for Sunday afternoons
  • Ministry to the Christian Neighbor’s family
  • Providing jobs- seeking assistance

 

The vision of Koinonia House® and post-prison homes is three-fold:

    1. to participate in breaking the cycle of crime;
    2. to reconcile and restore families of former inmate;
    3. to reflect the multi-cultural diversity of the body of Christ

The purpose of Koinonia House® is to create bridges enabling Christian inmates to go from prison to the local church through biblical discipleship.

The Local Koinonia House® and/or the Post-Prison Ministry Home (PPMH) all have one common thread – the five foundational elements:

  1. Christian family home
  2. Provision of two mentors – one financial and the other for personal Christian growth (Spiritual)
  3. Biblical discipleship
  4. Connection to a local church
  5. Suitable employment

 

The local Koinonia House and/or the PPMH is run by the Discipleship & Resident Director (DRD) couple appointed and governed by a local board of trustees.

The local Koinonia House® and/or the PPMH can house up to four residents, who will remain with them for a minimum of 15 months.  The program is completely voluntary on the part of the resident and they may leave or be asked to leave the program if they fail to maintain basic covenant criteria.

The covenant is a promise made between the resident & Koinonia House®, and/or the PPMH that promotes biblical discipleship and a Christian family home environment.  A strict schedule and high levels of accountability are a part of that covenant and these elements are a challenge for the resident – particularly at about the 3-month phase.  For this reason, the provision of suitable employment is not permitted until after the first three months.
Past graduates of Koinonia House® have returned to their families, been restored to their spouses & children, have gone into business for themselves, went to serve on ministry and community boards, became pastors and enjoyed scholarships to such places as Wheaton College through the Charles Colson Scholarship Program for ex-prisoners.

Possible Scenario for Implementation

An association of churches has had contact with KHNM.  They have been involved in jail or prison ministry, but they feel called to participate in ministry that would help Christian neighbors re-enter the Church after their release from prison.  The association includes one person who takes a leadership role in making such a ministry happen.  The association wants to start two houses – one for men and one for women.

A training seminar, perhaps when KHNM staff is traveling in their area, the association arranges a time for us to present the seminar to representatives from all the churches in the group.

After the seminar, the association makes a final decision to go ahead with the project.  They establish a Board of Directors and a Selection Committee, using the 32-step process described in “Post-Prison Ministry Steps to Start Sequence” to get their program set up effectively.  They work with KHNM to establish the collaborative agreements between the association and KHNM.  After finding the locations for the local houses and finding DRD couples to direct the houses, the Board and its Selection Committee begin the selection process to identify Christian neighbors to bring into the houses upon their release from prison.

 

Koinonia House® National Ministries, PO Box 1415, Wheaton, IL 60187
630-221-9930 phone, 630-221-9932 fax, www.khnm.net

© Koinonia House® National Ministries. All Rights Reserved. KOINONIA HOUSE®, MEET ME AT THE GATE®, and RECÍBEME EN LA PUERTA® are registered trademarks of Koinonia House® National Ministries. Website and materials are protected by copyright and trademark, and may not be copied or used without the written permission of Koinonia House® National Ministries.