The Bible calls us to remember those who are in prison as though we were in prison with them.
Yet when someone is convicted, they are often forgotten. Families distance themselves. Communities move on. Even churches, which preach forgiveness and redemption, can be among the first to turn away. For Chaplain Dr. Manthatisi Tsoeu, a Lesotho alumna of African Christian College, that is precisely where the ministry begins.
Manthatisi serves as a prison chaplain and correctional officer, walking daily with men and women that society has chosen to set aside. She believes that no matter how serious the crime, every person retains their dignity and their need for grace.
“Every person, no matter how sensitive their crime, still has a right to be treated as a human being,” she says. “Criminals come to prison confused, full of regret, and worried about the broken relationships they left behind.”
Inside the prison walls, something remarkable can happen. Through partnerships with churches and organisations that specialise in rehabilitation, inmates begin to see themselves as worthy of life again. Many accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Some go on to share the gospel with fellow inmates, becoming instruments of healing in the very place they were sent to be punished.
But the greatest test does not happen inside the prison. It happens on the day of release.
“When that gate opens, everything we worked for is either confirmed or undone by what awaits on the other side,” Manthatisi reflects.
She recalls one man who completed his sentence having shown every sign of genuine repentance and transformation. The day of his release arrived. No family member came to collect him. When he returned home, despite efforts to prepare the community for his return, the door was closed. Unwelcome and without support, he had no means to survive. Within two months, he had reoffended and was back behind bars.
“It is still a struggle to help a person see themselves as someone worthy of life and loved by God,” she admits. “As a chaplain, my goal is to walk with that person until they see themselves as worthy again. But if the community is not ready to receive them, all that work is undone.”
Manthatisi carries this burden not as a reason to quit, but as a call for the broader Church to step up. If we serve a Jesus who forgave us of all our sins, she argues, then forgiveness cannot stop at the prison gate.
The work of rehabilitation does not belong to chaplains alone. It belongs to all of us. The Church has a role. The community has a role. And as Manthatisi continues her ministry in Lesotho, she reminds us that the call to remember those in prison is not reserved for correctional officers.
It is a call for every follower of Christ.
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