Spiritual leaders work to ‘revive, reconnect and rehabilitate’ Shelby County inmates in week-long conference

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A spiritual revival for inmates in the Shelby County Division of Corrections took place this week.

Nationally renowned pastors, spiritual leaders, musical guests, and motivational speakers came to the 901 to spend time with those incarcerated, encouraging positive life choices.

This was part of a week-long event called the R3 Conference, the three R’s being “revive, reconnect, and rehabilitate.”

The director of the Division of Corrections shed some light on why the R3 Conference is vital in Shelby County.

“Transformation begins on the inside. If we want to begin to heal the city of Memphis, if we want to heal the individuals who live in our communities, we have to start from the inside,” said Anthony Alexander. Most of the men and women that are incarcerated in our facility come from this community so we’ve got to change and start that impact inside the facility.”

The conference featured morning and evening sessions with more than two dozen pastors, spiritual leaders, and speakers scheduled to attend.

“We are fortunate to have an abundance of community volunteers dedicated to spreading the word of God in a loving way that captures the hearts of our offenders and their families through love and grace,” said Alexander. 

This conference was four years in the making, according to Alexander, who also said he hopes this will be an annual affair going forward.

“We are hopeful that the R3 Conference is the beginning stage of creating positive change for communities from the inside out,” he said. “True transformation begins on the inside.”

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WMC. All rights reserved.