Guest Speaker

Thursday June 10th, 2010

Ken Cooper -Prison Ministries, Inc

Founder, President

Founded January 19, 2001, for the first five years KCPM provided consultation services to the Florida Department of Corrections, to various communities, and to religious organizations for the development and promotion of faith- and character-based initiatives and projects.  The focus was primarily on developing F&C-based prisons and post-prison work release and faith-based transition centers. Florida now boasts of five faith- and character-based correctional institutions with Lawtey CI having the distinction of becoming the nation’s first faith- and character-based prison. It was dedicated on December 24, 2003. I was deeply honored and humbled when Governor Jeb Bush asked me to pray the Prayer of Dedication.   

In January, 2006, KCPM began offering post prison transition services to long term offenders, housing them in an apartment building behind our home. In 2007 we expanded our re-entry ministries to include two additional long term transition facilities, River House and Faith House, for selected hard-to-place prisoners with addiction problems, men who have served 25+ years, and selected sex offenders. In September, 2009 we turned the ministry over to Billy Edison, director of re-entry services for two years, and assisted him in founding a new transition ministry, 20/20 World Vision to carry on the work. The four year recidivism rate for the 27 men served is a truly remarkable six percent, that is, only one man has fallen and returned to prison. A return rate of 80 percent is considered typical and 70 percent, excepted for hard core addicts like the men we serve. Mrs. Cooper and I thank the Lord, Jesus Christ and credit Billy Edison and his ex-offenders volunteer staff, who operate the houses, with this phenomenal success.

Recently, we began working with Christian leaders of Lakeland, Orlando and St. Augustine, Florida to assist them in organizing and developing a transition ministry for prisoners coming out of lockup to their community. As is the case with the four other ministries June and I have founded or co-founded, these ministries are intended to operate as a Christ centered, employment based crime prevention services.