Starting Celebrate Recovery in Prison

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Celebrate Recovery Inside


Starting Celebrate Recovery in Prison


Many prisons are open to Celebrate Recovery and, indeed, there are entire corrections departments or individual institutions that want the program and have implemented it. The need is there. Many of the inmates are open to a program that will help them overcome the problems and behavior that put them where they are.

Those who direct prison programming have a great amount of influence regarding the kinds of religious programming that can be made available within their institutions. They may have the authority to make the kinds of decisions that lead to faith-based programming in living units or to make the program available within the chapel program schedule. Chaplains may be open to new programs but are overworked and struggle with how to do everything they are required to do.

If you wonder if Celebrate Recovery is something for your institution, you may want attend a CR program in the community that is doing well to see how it works. It is also a good way to meet potential volunteers from CR who will be there to direct the program. To find a CR group near you go to the global locations button on the http://www.celebraterecovery.com/ website and click your state, then the directory.

These are the main variations within institutions:
Faith-based therapeutic community based on CR (Jamestown model). This model uses CR in full-time or nearly full time programming with inmates who live together and program together. In California this is known as the CR-SAP (Celebrate Recovery Substance Abuse Program) and has been approved for use in the prisons. It began at the Sierra Conservation Center, a 6,400 bed state prison near Jamestown, CA. The model is now in other prisons and uses inmates to present the program with volunteers coming alongside to help them do the program. Most CR-SAP units are 100-200 inmates in size. Inmates become involved as much as possible, including the T.E.A.M concept; however, it is recommended that the “M” be a CR leader from the outside to keep consistency and continuity (See T.E.A.M. below).

Faith-based units with full time Christian programming using CR and other compatible programs. They may contain such material as Experiencing God, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, or other material which equips them with life skills.


Faith-based units with part-time programming. The inmates work or go to school during the daytime but program several nights a week with CR as a basic program. Depending on the amount of time allotted to programming, which usually is during the evening hours, other curriculum may be used with content that reinforces positive Christian behavioral changes.

Chapel CR program with one session during the week being the worship and open-share groups and the other session a step-study. In prisons that have long-term inmates the participants can be trained to do the program with volunteer assistance. In short-term facilities, the need for volunteers to do the program, involving the inmates as much as possible, is more the rule.


Small-group step-studies which meet weekly. In short-term institutions these can be accomplished more quickly by having a lesson every week with the participants working in their own participant guides. Sessions can be conducted in chapel settings or in other areas that the institution may designate. This format is mainly an introduction to CR and should be used only for short-term prisoners who are in minimum security prisons or in county detention centers.

All inmates leaving the institution should be given the address of the closest CR group where they will be released, or introduced to a sponsor or sponsor team from the community who will be there to encourage and assist in a positive transition.

Suggestions for Programming
Every prison or detention center is different and the use of Celebrate Recovery materials and programming elements may be modified for various institutional settings.

The optimum setting would allow CR programming every day, seven days a week in a pod, dormitory or cellblock that is dedicated to a faith community where all inmates live together and program together and have at least two years in the program. In this case, there would be up to 6 ½ hours a day or more for programming. There are institutions which will allow this involvement; however, this is the exception.

Other institutions will allow CR programming for only one hour a week or even once a month and have a large turnover in population. In this case, the options are very limited.

Most programming is somewhere in between and we will discuss possible uses for Celebrate Recovery in these settings.

One other limitation is programming space. Some institutions have areas in which the inmates may meet in several different locations. Others have only one space, and that may be the living unit dayroom. It is not recommended that Celebrate Recovery be conducted cell to cell because of the need for group dynamics and community to complete the steps.

Note: Inmates who begin the program within a cycle start with step one in the Participant Guides regardless of the lesson the group is on during the worship time or open share time. They may be held accountable to work through the “Write About It” questions at the end of every lesson. Volunteers may be able to lead additional step-studies or to help inmates who may be behind the group after the main program cycle has begun. It is especially wise to close step-study groups after step 3 and not to have inmates who have just entered the program involved with those who are beginning the fourth step because of the nature of the inventory sharing and other issues. Trust and community must be built for this part of CR.

Program Components:
Celebrate Recovery has three distinct components and also has additional training for leaders which may be accomplished in the institutional setting, if possible.

1. Worship
Worship is usually held once a week and has 3 to 4 songs, prayer, the reading of the 12 Steps or the 8 Principles, teaching from the Leader’s Guide or testimony, Serenity Prayer and closing song. The full program should take between forty-five minutes and one hour. This format can be modified to have worship one week, a step-study the next. If there are fewer songs, the time with the materials can be increased.

A time should be set aside for inmates to give testimony to what God is doing in their lives. If it is difficult to get this started you may ask leaders from CR groups in the community to have someone come and give a testimony or use the volunteers. Transparency is essential to a deeper work to let God change the individual from the inside out.

2. Step-study
Step studies may be conducted alone or with the worship component. If inmates are in the institution only a short time, and you have only an hour a week with them, you may wish to conduct only a step-study, one lesson a week. If you have more than one hour, spend it on a short worship period followed by working on the steps. If a little more time is available, increase the number of worship songs. In all cases begin with prayer and either the 12 Steps or the 8 Principles of Celebrate Recovery. All of the lessons can be completed in about six months, if this is the only option.

3. Open Share Small Groups
If you have the luxury of having a two hour block of time at least once a week, you can have the worship period and either a small share group or a step-study following that. You also may have one hour for open share each week and use the other hour for the lesson from the Leader’s Guide one week and a step-study the next week.

If the inmates will work on their own issues during the week in the participant guides and then share, this is preferable. Depending on the length of time the inmates are in the institution, you may have either a six-month or one year period to go through the programming. If you can have all three components with a sufficient amount of time (at least four hours a week) you will be able to complete the entire program and inmates will benefit more from this experience.

Use of the Bulletin Handouts
You may have a facility that has a fast turnover in population. Most jails are in this category since inmates may be in there only until their case is adjudicated or for very short sentences. It is not feasible to get them through step-studies since they usually will not be involved for more than a few weeks at the most.

In the Advanced Leadership Training Guide there are bulletin handouts that are used in many CR programs during the evening that the large group meeting is held, followed by open share groups. These may be used in the prisons or jails as well and only require copying. This gives the inmates a “taste” of CR which is all that you can expect to do during this short time with them. As they leave the facility, they should be directed to a CR group in the community, or to a CR Inside program in a state prison, if they are sentenced there.

5. Leadership Training
At another time during the week or even once a month, if you are able, you may have a training session with those who have been through the steps, either in CR or in one of the other 12 step programs. Consider those who will be with you the longest to train, especially those who have taken the program seriously and worked all of the steps. You may even be able to have a full T.E.A.M. (see below) that you can provide training for that will give strategic leadership to the program. The more you can help inmates conduct and become involved in the presentation of the program, the less you will have to rely on volunteers from the outside, except to be there in support of the inmates as they work the program. It is also better because the participants make the program their own.

Note: Until you are able to train inmates to assume these roles, volunteers must assume the responsibilities until an inmate is ready to step into the role. Each volunteer should begin looking for an inmate to train to fill the position as soon as they have completed the 12 steps and are ready to do so. This may never be possible because of the circumstances which limit the program such as the length of time in the institution. It is anticipated that the T.E.A.M. concept will only be accomplished in large faith-based living units with long-term inmate participants and that sufficient programming time and space is available.

T—Training Coach. The Training Coach will train the group leaders on how to lead a group meeting, how to lead step-studies and how to continue to bring more inmates into leadership positions as they complete the 12 steps and want to continue to help others in the program. They may also conduct new participant orientation. This person will develop and train an apprentice coach who will be able to take over when he or she leaves the institution or program. A Christian counselor may occasionally be asked to teach group dynamics during monthly meetings.

E—Encourager Coach. The encourager coach will help group leaders to be consistent in the content of the sessions, recruit and develop others to assume leadership roles, and generally see to the care needs of the members. An apprentice coach will be developed and trained who will be able to take over when he or she leaves the institution or program.

A—Assimilation Coach. The assimilation coach will promote Celebrate Recovery to the members, the other inmates in the facility and the staff as he or she has contact with them. They may talk to new groups of inmates entering the institution who may be recruited for the program. New leaders may be interviewed by the “A” person. Information as to small groups that are available and how to become a member of a group will be communicated to the membership. An apprentice coach will be developed and trained who will be able to take over when he or she leaves the institution or program.

M—Ministry Leader. This person should be someone other than an inmate and will be responsible for the entire Celebrate Recovery ministry at the institution. The “M” will select and schedule teachers for the large group lesson, oversee the other coaches and will intervene as necessary to keep the program on track. This person will serve as the main contact with the institution, the volunteers and the inmates.

Possible Prison Group Issues:

Codependency, Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, Freedom from Anger, Sexual Addiction and Exiting a Lifestyle of Risk are among the “biggies” in prison. If you are considering a women’s prison, there are additional issues of sexual, physical and psychological abuse from the men in their lives.

Many of these groups are well-known to CR groups, but I will elaborate on one that probably is not:

Exiting a Lifestyle of Risk
God created us to desire to live safely and securely in our surroundings. When circumstances, either of our making or thrust upon us by others, interrupt this innate desire, we may develop a lifestyle that feeds on an adrenalin rush from negative, risky behavior which is outside the normal limits of God’s design for us. This may be caused by such things as abusive relationships with parents or others, or we have developed a feeling of inadequacy which brings about thinking patterns that lead us into situations that may be dangerous to ourselves or others.

Risk is not, in and of itself, a negative thing but when it becomes an addiction that leads to the possibility of danger or injury to others or ourselves for no other reason than to satisfy our sensation of thrill, it is not the will of God for our lives and will lead us toward a lifestyle that is harmful. The enemy can use these abuses to keep us from God, can destroy our relationships with others© Copyright
and even destroy our own lives.

This addiction can be broken by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ as we recognize and accept responsibility for our actions and behaviors. It may take time to break the patterns that are destructive, but with the willingness to let our Higher Power, Jesus Christ, change our lives, we will experience real freedom from negative risky behaviors and learn to channel our desires into positive acts of service that benefit those around us. In following Christ we may risk our reputations, our livelihood and even our lives as we give ourselves to Him to be used in service.

Examples of negative risk taking:
1. Committing crimes such as robberies, burglaries, assaults, or other activities for the “thrill” of doing them.
2. Risking all of one’s income on gambling.
3. Driving in a reckless manner on public streets and highways for the “fun” of it.
4. Joining gang activities and becoming involved in the lifestyle of drugs, alcohol abuse, and turf battles.
5. Promiscuous sexual behavior that degrades those of the same or opposite sex, spreads sexually transmitted diseases or causes pregnancies outside the bonds of marriage. All sexual activity outside the marriage covenant is risky and contrary to God's purposes for his children.


Transition to the Community

Only part of the task is done when Celebrate Recovery is taken into prisons. It is wonderful to see the changes in people as Christ, the Higher Power, works in them. The prison environment becomes a healing environment and those who have made a commitment to follow Christ find others who are walking beside them in faith.

But then time for release comes and what then? New problems, new and old people to deal with, stress added by parole or probation officers and the requirements they bring. Temptations from old addictions or behaviors. This is where the rubber hits the road. The Celebrate Recovery experience in prison was a downhill coast compared to what is to be faced. It will be much harder, like rowing a boat up the stream.

This is where the Celebrate Recovery programs in the community should shine like a light: You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. (Matthew 5:14-15, NLT)

Every Releasee Needs a Sponsor
Some ministries call this person a “mentor” but in CR the term is “sponsor.” There may be more than one sponsor since this can take time to work with the person who has just been released. It should be remembered that the one who has been incarcerated may have been in the institution for months or even many years. The longer one is locked up the more institutionalized they become.

Just as we all have habits (most of which are good) such as locking doors when we leave, or turning off lights that are not used to save electricity, an inmate may not have turned off a light as long as they were in the prison or jail—someone else turned them on and off. They may not have closed a door, it may have been opened and closed for them by a corrections officer. They must relearn “outside habits” that most of us take for granted.

There may have been changes that they do not recognize. One inmate asked me what the coin was that said “quarter dollar” on it. He was used to the old quarter and did not recognize the new images. Most of our money has changed. If someone has been gone ten or twenty years, think of the changes he or she needs to go through to get caught up.

The desire to go back to what was familiar is also very strong. Most of us don’t feel comfortable when we are in unfamiliar surroundings. White folks may feel uncomfortable in a black neighborhood unless they have been acclimatized. The same goes for blacks. There is no reason why we should segregate ourselves the way we do, but we do very often, especially in church. The sponsor should take extra means to help the sponsoree make that adjustment.

It may be a real temptation to go back to the same addictive behaviors that got the person in trouble in the first place. Relapse is a real possibility, especially within the first six months. Jobs may create stress, or a lack of a job can cause stress and may tempt the ex-offender to slip back, even with a strong Christian commitment. Family issues, especially trying to assume too quickly the role of the head of the household from a wife who has been doing it all, may complicate things. Divorce is extremely high among those who have been released from prison.

Someone to talk to, someone who can listen and not become angry or pile on more stress is very important. What is the difference between an accountability partner and a sponsor?



For further information, please call Hector Lozano, National Director, Celebrate Recovery Inside, 209-785-4097 or email hectorl@saddleback.com.