Interview with Chris Hoke, founder and executive director of Underground Ministries [Video]

Watch the replay of our interview with Chris Hoke, founder and executive director of Underground Ministries. We learned about how they interact with churches that participate in their One Parish One Prisoner initiative.

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Our guest for this interview is Chris Hoke, founder and executive director of Underground Ministries

About our guest

Building on two decades as a jail chaplain and pastor to gangs and violent offenders in Washington’s Skagit Valley, Chris Hoke is the founder and executive director of Underground Ministries, seeking to “open new relationships of embrace and trust between the incarcerated and our communities to which they return—for our mutual transformation.”

In 2018 Underground Ministries launched its One Parish One Prisoner initiative—mobilizing congregations in NW Washington to be in direct relationship with men and women releasing from prison, to practice resurrection as reentry teams and let contact with those we fear further open and heal church and community members. There are currently 67 active parish teams in Washington, 7 in Chicago, and One Parish One Prisoner is launching in Texas this October, 2024.

Underground’s ongoing local reentry work with gang-affected families is now fully staffed and led by former gang members who have graduated from Underground’s reentry community and now have human services degrees. Chris also cofounded a coffee-roasting business, Underground Coffee, which led to a wider Underground Employment network, employing men and women coming out of prison and addiction, promoting a culture of resurrection employment that celebrates “transferrable skills” from underground pasts.

Hoke received his BA from UC Berkeley and his MFA in creative nonfiction from Seattle Pacific University. He is the author of WANTED: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jail, Among Outlaws, and Across Borders (HarperOne, 2015). Hoke’s work has been featured on NPR and in The Sun, Image, Portland, Sojourners, Modern Farmer, Christian Century, Plough, and Presbyterian Outlook.

More information: undergroundministries.org | Underground Coffee | chris-hoke.com

All are welcome to attend!