Those who have answered the call of Matthew 25:34-40 cringe when hearing someone talk about prison ministry in terms of taking God and/or taking the Church into the prisons. We neither take God, nor do we take the Church, into the prisons. We go into the prisons and find God has preceded us; we find, thankfully, that the Church is already there.
Within my own denomination, the United Methodist Church, this view of taking the church into prison is found within the material on an official UMCOM website in the article by Darby Jones, Inspiring Prison Ministry Ideas. While its purpose is very nice, it is like nails on a chalkboard. The article begins:
“SUMMARY: Prison ministries take the church behind bars to play to a captivated crowd.”
In my view, those who minister to prisoners neither take the Church, nor do they take God, into the prisons. God has already gone before us. We reach out to the prisoners and express and celebrate our mutual membership in the Body of Christ. We express a shared faith. We connect and offer connection.
-Ansgar
St. Thomas the Believer Project 
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