About Progressive Prison Ministries

The World’s First Ministry Serving The White Collar Justice Community

It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry and licensed clinical staff/partners and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Our ministry, as a 501(c)(3), accepts donations that are deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For our Contact Us page to arrange an initial call, video chat, or in-person appointment, click here.  For Jeff Grant’s bio, click here.  For Lynn Springer’s bio, click here. For team member bios, click here

Link to Contact Info & Appointments.

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Recent Accomplishments

  • We formed a community of individuals and families with white collar justice issues founded on empathy, compassion, care, hope, taking responsibility for our actions, accountability and second chances. 

  • We helped each other to accept complete responsibility for our actions, and to make specific amends to those we have harmed.

  • We have served over 500 individuals and families. Link to testimonials. 

  • We helped unify families and parents to re-establish relationships with estranged children. 

  • We have prepared each other for new careers, provided each other leads and resources. 

  • We have welcomed over 335 participants on our weekly online White Collar Support Group meeting. We meet on Zoom each Monday evening at 7 pm ET, 6 pm CT, 5 pm MT, 4 pm PT.

  • On August 9, 2020, we celebrated the 269th meeting of our online White Collar Support Group.

  • We have organized in-person reunions, retreats, lunches, presentations, religious services, sermons, ordinations, and holiday gatherings. 

  • We have presented at conferences, universities, religious and community organizations; have been the subject of articles in national and regional media; and have been interviewed on television segments, radio shows and podcasts.

  • We have been appointed to important positions in major criminal justice organizations, sit on boards, and are actively involved in the national criminal justice reform movement. 

  • We founded a new Prisonist Ethical Movement and are creating the Center for Ethics Training & Transformation.

  • We launched our new prisonist.org website. 

  • We updated our prisonist criminal justice blog that has over 8 years of important content, with new blogs, news and events posted regularly.

  • We completed our fourth season of the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant, broadcast live on WNHH 103.5 FM, New Haven, CT, live-streamed and podcast 24/7 everywhere.

  • We have been available for each other at all hours of the day, night, weekends, holidays and whenever anyone of us is in need. 

  • We helped each other through the darkest times and greatest challenges of our lives.  
 

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. was founded in 2012, incorporated in 2014 and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. We are an outreach ministry of St. Joseph Mission Church, 450 Wilfred Terrace, Cliffside Park, NJ, 07010, Rev. Father Joseph Ciccone, Ed. D, M Div, presiding, (201) 754-4GOD, saintjosephmissionchurch@gmail.com.