Welcome Center nourishes hope among inmates’ families

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AMARILLO—As families of inmates gather around tables for shared meals at the Hope Welcome Center, they receive more than a nourishing meal. They discover unconditional acceptance and hope.

The Hope Welcome Center opens each weekend to serve the families of inmates incarcerated in five Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities in the Texas Panhandle.

Soon after he arrived at Amarillo Area Baptist Association in 1997, Harold Scarbrough saw the need for a ministry to serve inmates’ families, and he presented his vision to churches in the area.

Working closely with local leaders—particularly Paul Dunn, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Canyon—and with help from the Baptist General Convention of Texas and some charitable foundations, Scarbrough raised the funds needed to develop the welcome center.

The Hope Welcome Center opened its doors to its first guests in 2005. In the years that followed, the center has developed solid working relationships with area prisons, and TDCJ personnel recommend the facility to visitors as a safe place to find lodging, showers and meals.

Relationships nourished around dinner table

The Texas Baptist Hunger Offering helps the center provide food for families, with support from several churches in the area.

The Texas Baptist Hunger Offering helps the Hope Welcome Center provide food for families, with support from several churches in the area. (Courtesy photo)

Each Saturday evening, a host church prepares the main dish for the meal visiting families enjoy, and on-site coordinator Don and Dickie Blankenship add side items to complete the meal. They also provide a continental breakfast to overnight guests on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

A fully stocked kitchen is equipped with easily prepared food items the families also can make for themselves. Tea and coffee always are available, along with plenty of snacks for children. Older teenagers typically stay at the Hope Welcome Center to watch their younger siblings while a parent or grandparent visits their incarcerated loved ones.

Family members build relationships as they share meals and lodging. They also have opportunities to spend time together in the center’s common room.


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The Blankenships are responsible for purchasing the food and necessary disposable products. Paper plates and plastic utensils make clean-up easy. Families typically volunteer to help clear the tables and perform other chores, although they are not required to do so.

Opportunity to hear the gospel message

After the Saturday evening meal, a devotion time is scheduled featuring hymn singing, a brief message and a time of prayer. Guests are not required to attend, but most participate.

“In the last two years during our devotion time, we have witnessed four professions of faith” in Christ, Dunn said. “In addition, there have been five or six rededications. We see about one decision a month.”

The Hope Welcome Center had to close for a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it reopened last fall.

“We average about 25 people per month—usually two or three families per weekend,” said Dunn, who has served on the center’s board of directors since its beginning.

Prior to the pandemic, the Hope Welcome Center was filled to capacity nearly every weekend, he noted. Since demand has not reached pre-pandemic levels, the center has relaxed some of its policies.

“We’ve broken our own rules,” Dunn said. “Before the pandemic guests had to make reservations at least a week in advance. Now, if they show up and need a place to stay, we’ll take them in. They are so grateful.”

A safe and affordable place

Dunn recalled a particular woman who stayed at the Hope Welcome Center.

“After she returned home, she wrote a note thanking them for having a safe place to stay … a place that she could afford. Not many people would express love this way, but this woman was truly thankful.”

About one-fourth of the guests respond in some way. A small donation is accepted but not required.

With rising inflation—particularly escalating gasoline prices—the center makes family visits at area prisons possible for some who otherwise could not afford them. In particular, they appreciate having food available at no cost to them.

“We would have to go without food if it was not provided,” one guest said. “With fuel costs so high and having to drive 200 miles one way, the food is greatly appreciated.”

Doors open at the Hope Welcome Center every Friday at 3 p.m., and the center closes at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

“This ministry reaches every age group—from infants to the elderly,” Dunn said. “Mothers bring infants and young children when they visit their husbands. Grandparents visit grandsons and nephews.”

Concerned Christians can support Hope Welcome Center either by giving financially or becoming a prayer partner, he added.

The center not only ministers to inmate families, but also indirectly affects the incarcerated. Frequent family visits build stronger family relationships when inmates are released. And as family members come to know Christ, they influence their loved ones in prison.

“Our inmate population is an overlooked group,” Dunn said. “After they are released, they can make a difference in our world. Families come from foreign countries and from Florida to California. This ministry … is vital in telling others about Christ.”

Carolyn Tomlin writes for the Christian market and teaches the Boot Camp for Christian Writers.


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