Acceptance beyond the prison gates

Emily Green introduces the The Welcome Directory, a multi-faith charity that supports faith and belief communities across England and Wales to provide a safe and lasting welcome for people of faith leaving prison

For many people leaving prison, finding a church can be daunting. Alongside the practical challenges of securing housing, employment and rebuilding relationships, they often carry the burden of stigma and isolation. Walking through the doors of a church can feel like one obstacle too many.

The Welcome Directory exists to help change that.

The Welcome Directory is a multi-faith charity that supports faith and belief communities across England and Wales to provide a safe and lasting welcome for people leaving prison. The vision is simple: that every prison leaver with a faith or belief can find acceptance, belonging and community beyond the prison gates.

The Welcome Directory lists almost 600 faith and belief communities that have committed to welcoming prison leavers. The directory is available in every prison across England and Wales, in Approved Premises and online. Prison chaplains use it every day to connect people preparing for release with a welcoming community close to where they will be living.

Alongside the directory, we offer free webinars and an online Prison Awareness Course, equipping communities with the understanding and confidence to welcome prison leavers safely and well.

This work is making a real difference. During 2025, prison chaplains made almost 500 connections between people leaving prison and registered faith and belief communities. Hundreds of prison leavers received ongoing support through those communities, and almost two-thirds of registered communities who responded, reported that the prison leavers they supported had not gone on to reoffend.

These figures remind us that welcome matters. A church cannot solve every challenge someone faces after prison, but it can offer something that many people desperately need: friendship, acceptance, encouragement and the opportunity to grow in faith as part of a community.

Across the Baptist family there are already churches quietly living out this ministry, whether through prison chaplaincy, foodbanks, debt advice, community cafés or simply by creating spaces where everyone is treated with dignity and grace. Becoming part of The Welcome Directory is a natural extension of that witness.

Lynn Green, General Secretary of Baptists Together has offered  this commendation for The Welcome Directory: “Our vision, as a movement, is to 'grow healthy Churches in relationship for God's mission'. I believe that welcoming those leaving prison is a part of that.”

Joining is free and straightforward. Churches simply need:

• an up-to-date safeguarding policy, which promotes an active culture of safeguarding;
• the support of their church leadership;
• a named contact person ("Champion"); and
• some relevant experience of prison chaplaincy, community support work, or attendance at our Prison Awareness Course.

Jesus' ministry was marked by welcome. Time and again he drew alongside people who had been excluded, judged or overlooked, offering them dignity, hope and a place to belong. Hebrews 13:3 also encourages us to "remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison." For Baptist churches seeking practical ways to live out the gospel, welcoming those leaving prison is one powerful expression of that calling.

If your church would like to become part of The Welcome Directory, you can register online. Alternatively, you can find out more via the website or contact The Welcome Directory with any questions on the email below. Together, we can help ensure that more people leaving prison discover not only a place to worship, but a community where they are known, valued and able to flourish.

Email: admin@welcomedirectory.org.uk

Find out more online: welcomedirectory.org.uk

Or search for us on Facebook, Instagram or Bluesky

Emily Green is the Welcome Directory's project manager