Ministering to children and families of prisoners can be hard. Just ask FCA ministers, Bob and Mona Davies who are founders of the Community Outreach Center in Wildomar, California.
The Davies have, however, found unique ways to reach those families. Recently they joined forces with Builders of Faith Ministries to invite children of incarcerated parents to an Easter celebration.
Their strategic partnerships go even further. Area banks, for instance, assist with “gaming” workshops for children to teach financial literacy. Also, middle school students from a neighboring school showed off their high-tech robots before an eager, young audience. Seeing robots respond to voice commands—moving, talking, even dancing—the younger children enthusiastically joined in building their own robots.
Beyond the fun and candy, however, the Davies show the love and compassion of Christ. The resurrection story was presented to the children and their adult caregivers, offering hope to so many stuck in hopeless situations.
Part of Community Outreach Ministry’s mission is to educate and inform caregivers about resources available to them. The Davies, who founded the ministry nearly 20 years ago use a model written by Mona, Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration. Although some incarcerated parents are already receiving support services outlined in the ministry’s model, caregivers can sometimes slip through the cracks. So the Davies work to minimize the impact on everyone—children, extended families, and caregivers—resulting when a mother or father is imprisoned.
