Captive But Not Forgotten: Restoration Behind Bars
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives…”
“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing…”
“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
In every region of the world, incarceration often means isolation, ostracization, and a limited future. As everyday life progresses for those on the outside, there are lives held in limbo and often forgotten. But throughout Scripture, the command to care and pray for prisoners is mentioned more than 130 times. The outside world may have forgotten them, but God has not.
Each Saturday morning, as the South African sun peeks over the horizon, Maureen Malatjie heads to a local juvenile justice center to bring joy, hope, and restoration to young lives that have been paused way too soon. Her passion to serve these youth was sparked during the Haggai Leadership Experience (HLE) in 2019, where she felt the Lord directing her toward serving incarcerated youth. Since then, she has devoted herself to prison ministry, which not only shares the Gospel with young offenders but also empowers them with social integration tools to prepare for life on the outside.
Maureen’s ministry includes two pastors, her brother, Sipho Kubayi, who is also a Haggai Leader, and two women with backgrounds in social work and psychology. Together, they lead Bible studies, building relationships, and distributing Bibles to those without access to God’s Word.
This work of spiritual formation is a first step in the process of restoration. Maureen’s team helps reconnect offenders with families who had once disowned them and supports their reentry into society by linking them with supportive churches. Their work now extends even to law enforcement officers, who have been inspired by the progress and hope they see in the lives of those served.
The ministry also facilitates partnerships between local students and those who have been formerly incarcerated. Through storytelling and testimony, young students hear firsthand how poor choices and peer pressure can escalate, and how God’s grace can bring healing and change. Outside the prison, Maureen and her team extend their evangelism by partnering with a local hospital to offer prayers of hope and healing to the sick and witness to those in need.
Maureen’s life is a living witness to what genuine love, faith, and obedience can do. As an active member of Haggai South Africa, she now equips other leaders to answer God’s call in the same way she did and follow a call to bring restoration where it is needed most.
Written by Janay Cyphers
Captive But Not Forgotten: Restoration Behind Bars
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives…”
“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing…”
“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
In every region of the world, incarceration often means isolation, ostracization, and a limited future. As everyday life progresses for those on the outside, there are lives held in limbo and often forgotten. But throughout Scripture, the command to care and pray for prisoners is mentioned more than 130 times. The outside world may have forgotten them, but God has not.
Each Saturday morning, as the South African sun peeks over the horizon, Maureen Malatjie heads to a local juvenile justice center to bring joy, hope, and restoration to young lives that have been paused way too soon. Her passion to serve these youth was sparked during the Haggai Leadership Experience (HLE) in 2019, where she felt the Lord directing her toward serving incarcerated youth. Since then, she has devoted herself to prison ministry, which not only shares the Gospel with young offenders but also empowers them with social integration tools to prepare for life on the outside.
Maureen’s ministry includes two pastors, her brother, Sipho Kubayi, who is also a Haggai Leader, and two women with backgrounds in social work and psychology. Together, they lead Bible studies, building relationships, and distributing Bibles to those without access to God’s Word.
This work of spiritual formation is a first step in the process of restoration. Maureen’s team helps reconnect offenders with families who had once disowned them and supports their reentry into society by linking them with supportive churches. Their work now extends even to law enforcement officers, who have been inspired by the progress and hope they see in the lives of those served.
The ministry also facilitates partnerships between local students and those who have been formerly incarcerated. Through storytelling and testimony, young students hear firsthand how poor choices and peer pressure can escalate, and how God’s grace can bring healing and change. Outside the prison, Maureen and her team extend their evangelism by partnering with a local hospital to offer prayers of hope and healing to the sick and witness to those in need.
Maureen’s life is a living witness to what genuine love, faith, and obedience can do. As an active member of Haggai South Africa, she now equips other leaders to answer God’s call in the same way she did and follow a call to bring restoration where it is needed most.
Written by Janay Cyphers
Captive But Not Forgotten: Restoration Behind Bars
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives…”
“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing…”
“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
In every region of the world, incarceration often means isolation, ostracization, and a limited future. As everyday life progresses for those on the outside, there are lives held in limbo and often forgotten. But throughout Scripture, the command to care and pray for prisoners is mentioned more than 130 times. The outside world may have forgotten them, but God has not.
Each Saturday morning, as the South African sun peeks over the horizon, Maureen Malatjie heads to a local juvenile justice center to bring joy, hope, and restoration to young lives that have been paused way too soon. Her passion to serve these youth was sparked during the Haggai Leadership Experience (HLE) in 2019, where she felt the Lord directing her toward serving incarcerated youth. Since then, she has devoted herself to prison ministry, which not only shares the Gospel with young offenders but also empowers them with social integration tools to prepare for life on the outside.
Maureen’s ministry includes two pastors, her brother, Sipho Kubayi, who is also a Haggai Leader, and two women with backgrounds in social work and psychology. Together, they lead Bible studies, building relationships, and distributing Bibles to those without access to God’s Word.
This work of spiritual formation is a first step in the process of restoration. Maureen’s team helps reconnect offenders with families who had once disowned them and supports their reentry into society by linking them with supportive churches. Their work now extends even to law enforcement officers, who have been inspired by the progress and hope they see in the lives of those served.
The ministry also facilitates partnerships between local students and those who have been formerly incarcerated. Through storytelling and testimony, young students hear firsthand how poor choices and peer pressure can escalate, and how God’s grace can bring healing and change. Outside the prison, Maureen and her team extend their evangelism by partnering with a local hospital to offer prayers of hope and healing to the sick and witness to those in need.
Maureen’s life is a living witness to what genuine love, faith, and obedience can do. As an active member of Haggai South Africa, she now equips other leaders to answer God’s call in the same way she did and follow a call to bring restoration where it is needed most.
Written by Janay Cyphers
