Living Wisely Sweet 16 Issue | Page 34

GIVING. PRAYING. FASTING 34 #16 Rev. Joyce Edmonds Jones Rev. Joyce Edmonds Jones is an ordained Elder and Director of Evangelism and Outreach Ministries, at Hope Christian Church (HCC) in Beltsville, Maryland, where Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. is senior pastor. As the program director for The Christian Mentoring and Transition (CMAT) Program, she partners with Hope Christian Church and the Maryland institution for Women, to provide one-on-one mentorship to incarcerated women. The CMAT Program is both a mentoring and transitional skills program. Women with a desire to serve God who are trained as CMAT mentors, visit and write to incarcerated women once a month. The CMAT Program’s primary goals are: • To reduce recidivism for those who will be released from MCIW by giving them Biblically based foundational principles of living that transforms anyone who practices them. • To promote positive attitudes and actions while program participants are incarcerated by providing transformation skills for coping and managing negative emotions based on God’s Word.