CARLOS J. ORTIZ/Courier-Post Camden native Leland Wilcox says he found God while serving a prison sentence for a drug conviction and other charges.

Leland Wilcox doesn't say he was arrested.

"I was rescued," he said, from an addiction to crack cocaine.

The Camden native served six years in state prison for a drug conviction and other charges.

In prison, "I ran into Jesus Christ," Wilcox said. "I am a born-again Christian as of today."

The 40-year-old's faith was tested when he was released from jail in April. South Jersey Aftercare was there to help.

The Christian ministry began in 1998 with a handful of local men who hosted Bible studies in prisons. The volunteers saw there was a need to help inmates once they had served their terms, said David Monie of Washington Township.

When inmates are released from prison, they often have just the clothes they wear and less than $40 in cash, said Monie, who has conducted jailhouse Bible studies since the 1980s. Often, they have no families to return home to, no job prospects and no sympathy from the public.

It's a situation that leads many ex-inmates back into their old habits.

Volunteers began hosting weekly support group meetings at Antioch Baptist Church in Camden. They invited Christian men who just had been released or who were living in a halfway house.

Today, about a dozen or so men regularly attend. They talk about job opportunities and housing. They talk about where they've been and how far they have to go. They share how God has helped them.

Bill Mott, a six-year volunteer from Williamstown, helps lead the discussions. The 50-year-old opens with prayer and a devotional prepared from the Bible. Then, "things start opening up," Mott said.

Wilcox has been attending South Jersey Aftercare meetings regularly since he was released.

"It helps," Wilcox said. "It helps to know that someone else has been through what I've been through."

Recently released inmates need to feel embraced, he said. They need to know someone cares.

"I can let them know, through Jesus Christ, there is definitely hope," he said.

Then, Wilcox tells them his story.

He calls crack an "awesome demon," a destroyer. Only God was able to take away the desire to get high, he said.

Wilcox lives in a Maple Shade motel, thanks to public assistance. He also gets a small amount of money each week to live on and is enrolled in a computer literacy class. He has big dreams.

At the Thursday night meetings, he talks about his faith.

"I don't claim to know it all," Wilcox said. "But what the Lord has given me, I'm determined to share it with whoever will hear it."

The prison ministry changes lives, said Mott. He sees a hopeful future for the former inmate.

"He just seems to have an enthusiasm," Mott said. "I think he's going to be all right. I think he's going to make it."

Prison Fellowship Ministries and South Jersey Aftercare want to expand local services for inmates and their families.

The ministries are looking for more volunteers. Opportunities range from mentoring the children of inmates to hosting in-prison Bible studies.

"I think people deserve another chance," said Mott. "Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes, people make big ones . . . Somehow, people have to go on."

If you go
South Jersey Aftercare and Prison Fellowship Ministries will train volunteers for the prison ministry. The 12-hour training session will be held over two days at the Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church in Sewell. The sessions will be 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. Call Bill Antinore at (800) 820-4502, ext. 257, or e-mail antinore@gtsprepaid.com.
For more information on Prison Fellowship Ministries, visit www.pfm.org .