Our Programs

at a glance...

TJM was founded in 2007 by a group of men and women who were had longtime involvement with jail and prison ministries. Our volunteers represent 83 worship teams from Greater Cincinnati churches, 29 adult jail chaplains, and more than 120 pastors and ministers. We serve as the primary training and credentialing agency for the Hamilton Co. Sheriff's Department, managing all approved religious volunteers. 

While each of us will maintain our own particular theological convictions, TJM volunteers do not condemn those whose beliefs and practices may differ. TJM's Board of Directors and employees hold to a historic confession of the Christian faith (including the same core doctrines agreed upon by Evangelical, Mainline, and other Protestants as well as Roman Catholics), but we also believe our freedom to worship is best protected when we defend the religious rights of all people. Therefore, it is accurate to consider TJM both an ecumenical-Christian and interfaith ministry. In many cases, our diversity has led to encouraging interfaith dialogue among our volunteers and others in the Greater Cincinnati area.

adult jail chaplaincy

When you are incarcerated, there are few options and many moments of indecision and confusion.  Transforming Jail Ministries provides chaplains to counter those moments.  At each jail facility in Hamilton County, trained chaplains spend time in conversation, in prayer and in reflection with the incarcerated men and women.  Their fundamental role is to be available; their fundamental task is to respond to the incarcerated men and women who have requested to see a chaplain.

Currently, there are more than thirty TJM chaplains in Cincinnati, each assigned to a jail facility in Hamilton County. Each chaplain is available to those incarcerated, regardless of denomination, church affiliations or belief history.  Our chaplains are trained to be present and meet people wherever they are in their personal journey, spiritual or otherwise. 

 

Worship teams

Worship is the most common of all ministries that occurs in jails. At its essence, worship is the act of acknowledging that God is in charge, not us, and he is worthy of our praise and thanks. Our Worship Teams are comprised of partner volunteers from local congregations who go into the jails and spend time in worship and fellowship with the incarcerated men and women. We go, simply, because they cannot come. 

The style of worship is as varied as our teams. We encourage and expect each team to take ownership of their team as their own ministry. Thus, each team worships out of its own tradition. With that, a typical worship service in the jail looks much like a typical worship service in your church, including: singing, teaching, and prayer.

 

clergy contact visiting

The Clergy Contact Visiting Program is designed to assist ordained clergy in their pastoral work inside the jails of Hamilton County, Ohio.  While clergy normally have broader visiting privileges than the general population such visits are non-contact, which means they take place behind glass. 

Clergy who are considered ordained within the particular faith group to which they are accountable are eligible for contact visiting privileges through the Clergy Contact Visiting program.  This program allows ordained clergy only to visit any member of their congregation or any incarcerated individual who specifically requests to see them.  It does not allow random access.