ABOUT THE SAINTS

America today faces a mounting prison crisis.
The federal, state, and local institutions that seek to bring about rehabilitation have not been successful. Why? Because before a man can be truly rehabilitated, he must first be regenerated. The changed life must start from within.

IT MUST START WITH A NEW LIFE THAT CAN ONLY COME THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!

The Saints Prison Ministry endeavors to reach these men with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ through sports. Studies show that 80% of all prisoners refuse to attend a conventional religious program such as a chapel service or Bible study. However, they will gladly attend a sporting event at which the gospel is shared. Saints athletes minister seasonally through basketball, soccer and softball, and women's volleyball, in Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Since 1987, our teams have played more than 1,700 games in over 275 different prisons in 24 states and two countries. We currently correspond with 25,000 inmates in more than 400 different prisons in several different countries.

WE ALSO OPERATE:

The Saints Bible Correspondence School with an enrollment of 2,500 students and our transitional services program, Lives in Transition, to help ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into the community The national recidivism rate is 75% for all prisoners, 40% for born-again inmates, and just 15% for discipled believers.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The idea for The Saints Prison Ministry came five years before we played our first game. Dale Glading, the ministry's founder, trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior in March 1977. It was not until 1982, however, that he fully surrendered every area of his life to Christ's lordship. Almost immediately, God burdened Dale with a desire to combine his love for Christ and his love for sports, for the purpose of reaching the lost.

After thinking and praying about the idea for several years, Glading finally decided to act in 1987. Forming an all-Christian softball team, he was led to contact several area prison chaplains and recreation directors to schedule some games. The first game played by the team, originally named The South Jersey Saints, was on June 6, 1987. That day eight prisoners accepted Christ as Savior at the Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, NJ.

The Saints squad played just five games that first season, but more than doubled its schedule the following year. For three years, a Saints volleyball team also toured area correctional institutions. However, our basketball team, which was formed in 1989, soon supplanted the volleyball squad in popularity and effectiveness. In 2002, the Saints added a soccer team for the purpose of reaching Spanish-speaking inmates.