Prison Fellowship has relaunched Inside Journal, a newspaper that reaches thousands of incarcerated men and women with the hope of the Gospel. With a starting circulation of 50,000 copies, Inside Journal has a new look after a hiatus in its publication, but it retains the elements that made it a widely read and admired resource in our nation’s prisons for nearly two decades.
Inside Journal includes inspirational stories of lives transformed through Jesus Christ. It also contains practical resource articles to help prisoners make the most of their time behind bars, whether they are close to release or incarcerated for life. Finally, every issue of Inside Journal explains the Gospel in a way that makes sense to prisoners and invites them to respond.
Inside Journal’s enduring popularity, high-quality content, and wide circulation make it a powerful evangelistic tool, and chaplains have hailed its return.
“Men who are in special housing, or ‘the hole,’ always ask me for [Inside Journal],” said Vera Rhyne, the chaplain at James River Correctional Center in State Farm, Virginia.
And therein lies another strength of Inside Journal: It can find its way into the hands of prisoners whom volunteers or chapel services might never reach, and it can stay with them longer than any visit could last.
Copies of the new Inside Journal reached prisons the first week of August. A fresh edition will be shipped free to chaplains quarterly.
As a volunteer, you may minister in a facility that does not yet receive Inside Journal. If you know a prison chaplain or religious services coordinator who would like to receive a shipment of the next edition, he or she can write to Inside Journal, P.O. Box 1790, Ashburn, VA 20146-1790. The chaplain must include his or her name, institution, address, and desired quantity (any multiple of 50, up to 1,500 per facility).