An Overview of CAC/NH
The Church of Another Chance (CAC) is the only church in the United States to work exclusively with men and women while they are incarcerated in a county jail AND once, they are released. CAC is not an outreach ministry of any church. It is a full-time, Disciples of Christ Church dedicated to providing positive, transformational spiritual support for incarcerated men and women. This is all we do.
The Church of Another Chance (CAC) is the only church in the United States to work exclusively with men and women while they are incarcerated in a county jail and once, they are released. CAC is not an outreach ministry of any church. It is a full-time, Disciples of Christ Church dedicated to providing positive, transformational spiritual support for incarcerated men and women. This is all we do.
*Members are men and women who come to CAC/NH during their incarceration and become members of the church. Their membership requires no dogmatic pledge, is non-denominational, automatic and can never be revoked by CAC/NH, reflecting the ceaseless love God has for what God has created.
What We Do
CAC works with men and women in the Belknap County jail providing individual and non-denominational spiritual counseling, classes, and worship services. While incarcerated *members average 10 visits with CAC before they are released, either to the free world or the State Prison. Inmates who have been active in the Church are encouraged to enter our unique mentorship program when they leave incarceration. CAC’s program is distinctive because it uses teams of mentors who work with members in a group setting. Each Tuesday evening, the men and women who are part of the mentoring cohort gather at the Laconia Congregational Church to break bread, engage in spiritual lessons, and talk about their successes and challenges of the past week. Each member also has a designated mentor to talk with during the week. Meals are provided for each gathering by local churches and organizations.
CAC works with men and women in the Belknap County jail providing individual and non-denominational spiritual counseling, classes, and worship services. While incarcerated *members average 10 visits with CAC before they are released, either to the free world or the State Prison. Inmates who have been active in the Church are encouraged to enter our unique mentorship program when they leave incarceration. CAC’s program is distinctive because it uses teams of mentors who work with members in a group setting. Each Tuesday evening, the men and women who are part of the mentoring cohort gather at the Laconia Congregational Church to break bread, engage in spiritual lessons, and talk about their successes and challenges of the past week. Each member also has a designated mentor to talk with during the week. Meals are provided for each gathering by local churches and organizations.
While Incarcerated
CAC/NH provides individual pastoral care, worship/bible study, and fellowship, while members* are behind bars.
Taking Flight Ministry
CAC/NH provides support as *members are preparing to be released back into the community. Those supports can include, in part, arranging housing, making provisions for food, clothing, hygiene products, cell phones, employment, medical care, and necessary identification.
Weekly Support Gatherings
CAC/NH *members also attend weekly gatherings that begin with breaking bread together, reading a devotion and talking about how the devotion/reading or God is speaking to them in the reading, The peer support and open honest communication during this time together is inspiring, often very moving and filled with love. (which we define as “I want the very best for you!”)
Our Beliefs
Learn more about our church's beliefs.
We believe God does not make junk.
We believe no one is the worst thing they’ve ever done.
We believe all people want to live healthy, fulfilling lives that we define as lives of importance, meaning and purpose.
We believe that the recognition of personal power and the unending commitment to holding onto it, permits maturity, growth and responsibility.
We believe the actions that have resulted in incarceration are expressions of deep experiential pain caused by grief. It is a cry for help.
We believe that the strong sense of self comes, in part, from belonging to a healthy community.
We believe that collaboration with community partners is critical to the creation of this sense of belonging,
Our Logo
The butterfly featured in the CAC logo holds profound significance, representing the remarkable potential for transformation. While caterpillars may go unnoticed, butterflies captivate us with their elegance and beauty. Similarly, for individuals who have been incarcerated, life's path is fraught with challenges.
In the same way that butterflies must part with their former caterpillar identity, those incarcerated, too, must transform and overcome trauma, substance abuse, or other life hurdles leading to imprisonment. For caterpillars, a deep internal awakening signals their destiny to become something new and beautiful. So too with those who have been incarcerated. In order to flourish and to reach their God given beauty, they too need to be released from the past, embracing the potential of the future by enduring the darkness until emergence is due.
In parallel, congregants of the Church of Another Chance find the motivation to embrace change, to relinquish the past, and to seize the opportunity to live in the light. Just as caterpillars are destined to soar, so too are the members of the Church of Another Chance meant to rise.
The butterfly featured in the CAC logo holds profound significance, representing the remarkable potential for transformation. While caterpillars may go unnoticed, butterflies captivate us with their elegance and beauty. Similarly, for individuals who have been incarcerated, life's path is fraught with challenges. Butterflies must part with their former caterpillar identity, a metaphor for individuals overcoming trauma, substance abuse, or other life hurdles leading to imprisonment. For caterpillars, a deep internal awakening signals their destiny to become something new and beautiful. This instinctive urge to evolve, to flourish into an entity far more magnificent than their current form, necessitates a release from the past, embracing the potential of the future by enduring the darkness until emergence is due. In parallel, congregants of the Church of Another Chance find the motivation to embrace change, to relinquish the past, and to seize the opportunity to live in the light. Just as caterpillars are destined to soar, so too are the members of the Church of Another Chance meant to rise.
Our Story
Learn our origin story and the reasoning behind what we do.
"I don't need to be saved again."
One day, as Pastor Scott served as a chaplain in the Tennessee Prison System, he encountered an inmate who had just observed another layperson's attempt to convert him and others. The inmate said to Pastor Scott, "Chaplain, I don't need to be saved again. What I need is a job when I'm released." He emphasized that churches often come into jails and prisons to "save" individuals but then resist or refuse to assist them once they're out.
A church is built
Moved by the impactful words, Pastor Scott began contemplating ways to embody this sentiment. In 2014, he incorporated the Church of Another Chance. This Nashville, Tennessee church became his solution to the issue.
History is made
The Church of Another Chance becomes the first church in America whose sole mission is dedicated to ministering to those incarcerated or formerly incarcerated in county jails. Specifically founded for this purpose, CAC challenges traditional notions of what defines a church. It is not an outreach ministry or a mission project of another church. Instead, CAC employs a bridge model, supported by evidence, that suggests individuals who engage with us during and after incarceration are more likely to stay free compared to those who only receive jail/prison modalities or post-incarceration support.
The movement expands
In January 2022, the Church of Another Chance extended its reach to New Hampshire, utilizing the same model as was used in Tennessee. Endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the CAC/NH became the second church in America dedicated exclusively to assisting current and former inmates within the United States prison system.