Meet Andre Smiley
Andre is a Certified Peer Specialist and Certified Minister with a real passion for people and their stories. He loves walking beside anyone impacted by incarceration and men and women as they return home from incarceration, helping them discover that their past does not define their future. As the founder of God’s Second Chance Ministries in Middletown, Ohio, Andre mentors, teaches, and leads groups that focus on faith, healing, and practical steps toward lasting change.
Before starting God’s Second Chance Ministries, Andre pastored at Found by Faith Church in Harveysburg, Ohio, where he learned the power of honest conversation, grace, and community. Those same values shape the warm, welcoming way he connects with others today.
When he’s not serving in ministry, Andre’s favorite place to be is with his family. He also enjoys reading self‑help and spiritual growth books and working out, believing that caring for mind, body, and spirit helps him show up well for others. To connect with Andre or learn more about God’s Second Chance Ministries, you can reach him at andre@godssecondchance.org.
for speaking, mentoring, or ministry opportunities.
About the Ministry
I founded God’s Second Chance Ministries out of my own journey as a returning citizen. I was released from incarceration just two weeks before the pandemic began. During that difficult and uncertain time, I learned that getting acclimated back into society successfully is not a single event, but a lifelong process.
The isolation of the pandemic gave me space to think deeply about my life, my faith, and my future. My family encouraged me to start journaling my experiences, and through that process, God began to reveal powerful insights. I realized that the lessons He was teaching me were not just for me—they were meant to help others walking the same path.
Each morning, I committed to starting my day with prayer and reading God’s Word. In those quiet moments of reflection, God placed a vision in my heart:
To create a ministry that walks alongside returning citizens, helping them successfully transition back into society through faith, guidance, and community support.
Our dream
At God’s Second Chance Ministries, our mission is to not only guide individuals through transformation but also to equip them to guide others. Through our True Pathway to Change program, we help participants rebuild their lives with faith, purpose, and responsibility.
Looking to the future, we envision a living cycle of mentorship — where every graduate of the True Pathway to Change program becomes a mentor for the next participant. Those who have successfully reintegrated into society, and truly understand the challenges of starting over, will walk alongside others just beginning their journey.
This ongoing mentorship model ensures that transformation continues beyond the program, building a strong community of leaders who lift one another up through faith, shared experience, and hope. Together, we are creating a chain of second chances that never ends.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"
Matthew 28:19
The difference between a success story and a statistic is YOU!!
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