Nation’s Largest Prison Ministry to Deliver the Good News in English and Spanish Through Zondervan Partnership
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2016—For the 2.7 million American children with an incarcerated parent, Christmas is bittersweet as they are separated from their imprisoned parent—often by more than 100 miles.
Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree brings joy to these children through gifts given by volunteers on behalf of their parent, and this year, an additional offer of good news: The Adventure Bible from Zondervan’s children’s imprint, Zonderkidz.
Available in English and Spanish, this is the first time Prison Fellowship has been able to offer a free Bible to every one of the Angel Tree families it serves—anticipated to be more than 140,000 families in 2016.
“We will put a Bible in the hands of potentially hundreds of thousands of children—and what better way to show kids the true meaning of Christmas than to offer them God’s word as they open their Angel Tree gifts?” said James J. Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of Prison Fellowship. “Most importantly, they will have the opportunity to grow closer in their relationship with God. We are appreciative of Zondervan, which has partnered with Prison Fellowship to make this possible.”
Every Christmas in all 50 states, Angel Tree mobilizes churches to minister to hundreds of thousands of children by delivering a gift and the gospel message on behalf of their incarcerated parents. Last year, the program provided more than 300,000 children with Christmas gifts. Since 1982, Angel Tree has delivered more than 10 million gifts to children on behalf of nearly 4.2 million imprisoned parents.
“Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program has always been near and dear to the hearts of our team at Zonderkidz,” said Annette Bourland, senior vice president of publishing. “To be able to present The Adventure Bible, in both English and Spanish, to young readers who will find comfort and strength in God’s message for them is a tremendous joy for our team.”
Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree is the only nationwide, year-round program that reaches out exclusively to children who have a parent in prison. Through collaborations with local churches and community organizations, hundreds of thousands of children receive a gift each Christmas on behalf of their incarcerated parents. In addition, partner churches meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of prisoners’ families through year-round ministry, such as camping events and mentoring. For more information on Angel Tree, visit www.angeltree.org.
ABOUT PRISON FELLOWSHIP
Prison Fellowship was founded in 1976 by the late Charles Colson, a former aide to President Nixon who served a seven-month sentence for a Watergate-related crime. Today, the Christian nonprofit is the nation’s largest outreach to prisoners, former prisoners and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. With 40 years of experience helping restore men and women behind bars, Prison Fellowship advocates for federal and state criminal justice reforms that transform those responsible for crime, validate victims and encourage communities to play a role in creating a safe, redemptive and just society.