at a glance

TJM was founded in 2007 by a group of men and women who had longtime involvement with jail and prison ministries. For many years, our primary mission has been to reach the men and women behind bars with the Gospel so that they could share in our hope in Jesus. In 2020, we began expanding our ministries to develop a more holistic ministry that reaches inmates, corrections staff, and law enforcement. Our desire is to share God’s message of hope from arrest to release and in all places in between.

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 uphold and defend religious freedoms for all people. Therefore, it is accurate to consider TJM both an ecumenical-Christian and interfaith ministry. In many cases, our diversity has led to interfaith dialogue among our volunteers and others in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Inmate Ministries

adult jail chaplaincy

When you are incarcerated there are few options and many moments of indecision and confusion. TJM provides chaplains to counter those moments. At each facility in Hamilton County, trained chaplains spend time in conversation, prayer, and reflection with incarcerated men and women. Their fundamental role is to be available; their fundamental task is to respond to men and women requesting spiritual counsel.

Worship team Services

Worship is the most common of all ministries that occurs in jails. At its essence, worship is the act of acknowledging God’s holiness and totally submitting one’s life to him. Our Worship Teams are comprised of local church and faith community volunteers who enter incarceration and treatment institutions to lead the incarcerated community in worship through song, prayer, and teaching. The style of worship is as varied as our teams.

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 friends and family, jail visits are usually non-contact through a glass window or over a video call. Clergy who are ordained by their faith group (or the equivalency of ordination) are eligible for contact visiting privileges through the Clergy Contact Visiting program.

For more information, check out our Inmate Ministries page.

Officer Ministries

Corrections officers and law enforcement face many of the same struggles as inmates because they spend much of their time in the same facilities with the men and women facing time in jail. Law enforcement serves people in their worst moments more often than not. This takes a toll on a person as time drags on and the stories pile up.

Corrections staff often witness heartbreaking stories including people struggling with addiction, losing loved ones, and having their lives turned upside down by bad decisions. These experiences are compounded with personal struggles and spending their work week in jail. When the global economy took a hit in 2008, corrections institutions across the nation lost funding which in turn led to a decrease in jail staffing and a lot of overtime. The men and women behind the badge need Jesus as much as the inmate population and as much as you and me. We supply chaplains for corrections staff who are separate from inmate chaplains. Our desire is to support them as they put their lives on the line to serve and protect our communities.

Because we have a desire to reach people from jail through release, we also want to supply police departments with chaplains who can serve officers and the community. Chaplains assigned to police departments do ride alongs, attend department functions and ceremonies, help with crisis intervention, aid in deescalation, and serve in many other ways as opportunities arise. Our heart is to serve and sustain those behind the shield as they serve and protect us.

For more information, check out our Officer Ministries page.

reentry ministries

When COVID-19 hit, corrections institutions were largely sealed off from outside volunteers serving on the inside. TJM has had a vision to eventually develop an aftercare program, but the global pandemic showed us how immediate the need was. With more than 600 volunteers sidelined by the shutdowns, we knew we needed to develop something that would be meaningful and impactful in the lives of the incarcerated even though we could not go into jails. Our reentry ministries came about as a result and we are currently in the process of developing this program so that we can walk with formerly incarcerated persons as they return home. We believe God is mighty to save and transform lives and we want to be a part of that plan.

Reentry volunteers will serve former inmates in a one-on-one discipleship coaching mentorship. Discipleship Coaches will be trained in safety policies and procedures, best practices for meeting spiritual and physical needs, and they will be equipped with a list of community resources available for successful reentry (e.g., food, housing, job skills training, and life skills training). Participants coming out of jail will be partnered with one Discipleship Coach who will help with accountability and successful reentry. Discipleship Coaches will only be paired with one Associate at a time.

For more information, check out our Reentry Ministries page.