We started as a prison ministry of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in 1996. At that time we were going into one of the facilities at the California Institution for Men in Chino, CA. We were only going in on the fifth Tuesdays of the month. There are not many months with five Tuesdays in them! What I am getting at is, don't be discouraged if it isn't what you would like it to be when your prison ministry first starts up. Where God guides, He will make all the provisions you need.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills prison ministry now goes in with teams to three of the facilities at CIM, four times a month. They are also going into both Chuckawalla State Prison and Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, CA, twice a month. Each of the Blythe prisons have five different yards with a thousand men per yard, so we are covering ten yards there twice a month with inductive Bible studies. And there are three different Bible studies going on each month at Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino, California.

As a separate ministry, Jesus is the Key Ministries is now going into the California Institution for Women in Corona, California on the 1st Fridays of the month doing inductive Bible studies. And into into CIM Min. Yard on the 2nd Sunday of the month into CIM Central 1st Sunday of the month.

Other prisons we have visited on special occasions are, California Men's Colony, Northern California Women's Facility,Centinela State Prison,California State Prison - Lancaster, San Quentin and R.J. Donovan; all California Department of Corrections facilities. Then there were the visits back east to South Wood State Prison and Jessup State Prison, both in Maryland. Dietz Prison, Tegel State Prison, Butzbach Stae Prison and Friedberg State Prison, all In Germany.

Then in 2007 we went to Central America to the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. We had the opportunity to visit 10 prisons within those countries. All of them housing one or the other and in some cases both the notorious MS 13 and 18th Street gangs.

It started with a handful of people from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and now after eleven years, there have been over one hundred people who have served in this ministry. Some have been there since the beginning, others have come and gone. But it has all been a blessing to be a part of.

We started doing yard concerts in the spirit of the evangelistic crusades done on the "streets" (free world), like the Billy Graham Crusades or the Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie. At this time we have done four of them, with another four scheduled for this year. It is our prayer to do many more, in as many institutions as will let us. We have had well known groups such as Ordinary People, Scarlet Hope, The Kry, Heather Henry, Real Truz, Brothers in Blues, Two or More, Hannah Ford and Gutierrez Brothers,as well as some awesome groups from church worship teams, who have given of their time and talents to make the outreaches the success they have been. Check the page link "Yard Crusades" below for pictures, and as time goes on links to the different groups. We hope to attract other groups who will want to come worship and share the gospel with us.

The ministry took a personal turn for me in October of 2000 when jail ministry became full time. It was then that I became the Senior Protestant Chaplain for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Men's Central Jail. Men's Central Jail is the largest jail in the world, with a population of 7,000 men.

In June 2004 Chaplain Ed had the privilege of serving as the chairman of the Prison Outreach Committee for the Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusades. They were able in about a six month period to conduct nearly 70 different outreaches within some 35 different facilities all over the area. Never in the 55 year history of the crusades had they had as many prison / jail outreaches as part of the Billy Graham Crusades. Nearly 10,000 inmates heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

Everyone who is a Chaplain for the County of Los Angeles does it on a volunteer basis. So it has been through donations that I am being funded as a missionary to serve in this position. (See the Calvary extension) Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be doing what I am, and now I can't imagine doing anything else.

As of March 2003 we have now become a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit California corporation, trusting that the Lord will continue to guide us. (See How You Can Help )

It is our hope by becoming a stand alone ministry we can go to other churches and come along side them in forming their own prison ministries. Get Bibles and other Christian materials into the jails and prison. And assist the institution Chaplains with their programs in any way we can. If interested in more information or in having a presentation at your church, you can contact us at (See Contact Us ).

It is hoped that this web site will first and foremost, glorify God. I hope to develop this site so that it will help all in the church body who are trying to minister to the jails and prisons. And to be an encouragement to any who want to start.