Bob Wilson from Free Churches Group, which sends chaplains into jails, says violence among inmates has been a growing problem recently.
The extent of physical unrest among inmates has been branded as shameful by David Cameron who, in a speech he gave today, also said reoffending rates are too high.
Among the leaders' plans are accepting the recommendations by Dame Sally Coates into prisons, protecting education budgets for inmates and giving some governors greater control.
Nearly half (46%) of all prisoners reoffend within a year of being released from prison but Bob Wilson from the Free Churches Group says encouraging inmates to gain qualifications and improve their literacy skills help them understand how to live productive lives.
Speaking on Premier Christian Radio's News Hour programme, he said: "Protecting the public is only one of the things that prisons are supposed to do. They do that very affectively by their walls, by their gates and their fences but they've always been designed to rehabilitate. They've not, historically, always done that very well."
Bob went on to say: "[Prisoners] feel hopeless. They feel as if their chances are very slim but actually we can improve their chances. Part of the hope of the Christian message is that we believe that life can change."