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Q: What is Operation Starting Line (OSL)?
A: Operation Starting Line (OSL) is a network of national, regional and state ministries and organizations working together to support prisoners, their families and the prison community through evangelism, discipleship and collaboration. The collaboration presently includes ministries and organizations that vary in size and focus, lending resources and expertise to both Operation Starting Line and America’s prisons.
Q: How do I contact OSL?
A: You can send an e-mail with your question to the OSL Liaison at LTucker@pfm.org. You will receive a response to your inquiry within seven business days.
Q: Where can general correspondence for OSL be sent?
A:The mailing address for OSL is: 44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20175.
Q: Where can I get information on the OSL collaborators?
A: You can look up information on the OSL Collaborators by going to the list of Collaborating Ministries.
Q: Who are some of these collaborating organizations?
A: In addition to Prison Fellowship, they include AWANA, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Billy Graham Center, Community Bible Study, Crossroad Bible Institute, The DeMoss Group, Forgiven Ministry, Great Dads, Good News & Jail Ministry, HeartBound Ministries, Intercessors for America, International Bible Society, Koinonia House National Ministries, Inc., Mission America, The Navigators, North American Mission Board (SBC), Prison Fellowhip (PF), Ramah International, Wings Ministry, Youth Direct Ministries and others. For more information, please see our list of Collaborating Ministries.
Q: What programs does OSL offer?
A: The collaboration of ministries offers materials, curriculum and training to volunteers, churches, prisoners and the correctional community. Some of the offerings include evangelistic events, Bibles, fathering seminars, prayer seminars, correspondence Bible studies, evangelism training for inmates, Christian devotional libraries, in-prison events connecting a child or family with their incarcerated loved one, discipleship training, pen pal ministry, re-entry support, outreach to Chaplains and Correctional staff and other ministry-specific programs such as Angel Tree offered by Prison Fellowship.
Q: What kind of follow-up activities does OSL offer?
A: Follow-up activities can include special prisoner-sensitive curriculum of Bible studies, personal development courses and leadership instruction that have been developed by the collaborators. This includes evangelism workshops, bible correspondence programs, materials to Chaplains, child / parent connections events, etc. Prisoners are given an immediate opportunity to sign up for correspondence Bible study courses through Crossroad Bible Institute in Michigan.
Q: Who is paying for this?
A: Most of the curriculum and materials are being donated by the collaborating organizations who originated them. Other costs, such as the costs of the in-prison programming events, are being paid for by contributions to participating organizations, such as Prison Fellowship.
Q: Who can get involved?
A: Volunteers are needed by participating collaborators for every project, both to participate in the in-prison events, and also to provide on-going support. The main recruiting of the long-term volunteers is through participating churches and through the constituencies of the collaborating organizations. To find out how you can get involved, please see our Volunteer Information section.
Q: How can I get further information on OSL and OSL collaborators?
A: Log on to OSL's website, go to the OSL Faq page and submit an e-mail with your question to the OSL Liaison. Also, the headquarters or local offices of any of the collaborating organizations should be able to provide information. You can go to the Prison Fellowship homepage and locate the local PF offices for information.
Q: What can be called an OSL project?
A: The following items outline what constitutes an OSL project.
- An OSL collaborator serves as the initiator/ sponsor and lead project coordinator to ensure project quality and consistency.
- The project involves a minimum of three OSL collaborators.
- The project sponsor will include the appropriate OSL Committee Chairperson (s) in project planning based upon the project objectives and needs.
- The project must incorporate the OSL Goals of evangelism, discipleship and collaboration.
- The evangelism component incorporates the “Five Points of the Gospel” developed by the Billy Graham Center or an approved evangelism presentation reviewed by the Evangelism Committee.
- Each project meets minimum event planning / quality standards. This includes:
- Conducting “Do’s / Don’ts” volunteer training for consistency and safety
- Using “Running the Race” evangelism booklets provided by Crossroad Bible Institute
- There is an assigned individual to record /report event data. At minimum this includes: number of volunteers artists and staff members; first time decisions, re-commitments, bible study sign-up, project attendance.
- Promotion as an OSL event (sponsored by)
- Placement on the OSL Project calendar that is maintained on the OSL website.
- OSL Projects must be approved by the full OSL collaboration in a regularly scheduled meeting or by the OSL Executive Committee if such project needs approval in a timely fashion outside of the regular scheduled meetings.
- Each project will include a post-project evaluation with project results communicated to all.
Q: Where can a Bible be obtained for a prisoner?
A: Several organizations provide Bibles to Chaplains or prisoners either as donation or as a purchase. Please contact the following organizations to meet your needs. The American Bible Society - www.americanbible.org; Bible Believers Fellowship - www.prisonministry.org; Canadian Bible Society - www.biblesociety.ca; Christian Library International - www.cli-nc.org; Gideon’s International - www.gideons.org; Heart of America Prison Ministries - www.heartprisonministries.org; International Bible Society - www.ibsdirect.com; International Prison Ministries - www.chaplainray.com; The Library of Hope - www.impactlife.org.
Q: How can a prisoner be enrolled in a Bible correspondence program?
A: You can contact Crossroad Bible Institute for information on their Bible correspondence program. Their website is: www.crossroadbible.org.
Q: Where can I get information on future prison ministry and correctional conferences?
A: You can contact the Billy Graham Center Institute for Prison Ministries (IPM) at www.bgcprisonministries.com. IPM maintains a national event schedule.
Q: Where can I get information on resources for prisoners, families, and guardians?
A: Many OSL Collaborators have resources for prisoners, families and guardians. You can go to list of Collaborating Ministries to find the resources.
Q: Where can I get information on starting a prison ministry?
A: Harvestime International Ministry - www.harvestime.org and the Billy Graham Center Institute for Prison Ministries - www.bgcprisonministries.com have information on starting a prison ministry.
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