Ministry in the Trenches is a compilation of articles from Ministering Together, the newsletter of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County California (formerly the Council of Churches). The manuscript offers an intimate overview of the nature, and evolution, of a specialized ministerial practice as chronicled and illustrated by the Rev. Dr. Charles D. Tinsley, a Presbyterian minister (Presbyterian Church, USA). He served as the full-time chaplain for that San Francisco Bay Area county's juvenile detention facilities for twenty-four years, 1994 through 2018.

Included in the text are reflections, poems, prayers, short biographical sketches, and excerpts from letters as presented and written by the young people themselves.

You have showed me and taught me a lot of things including how to keep my lips ziped when I have something to share with people when really I shouldn't share my thoughts that could hurt me in the long run.