Prison Fellowship

Remember Those in Prison

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Overall
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Clinic
    • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree® Church Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • 2020 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

The Key to Safer Communities Is Better Prisons

June 27, 2019 by James J. Ackerman

To stop the cycle of crime and incarceration, America's prisons need a culture change.

Despite a rising tide of state and federal criminal justice reforms, the United States still has the largest prison population in the world. And because prisons often fail to rehabilitate people serving their sentences, hundreds of thousands of men and women stay caught in a devastating cycle of crime and incarceration.

Our prisons won't produce different results until they undergo a complete cultural shift—one that places the emphasis on restoring people who are made in God’s image. That's why, with your help and prayers, Prison Fellowship is taking bold steps to expand both the Prison Fellowship Academy® and Warden Exchange®. While the Academy works to holistically transform groups of incarcerated men and women, Warden Exchange is an engine driving change at the highest levels of corrections.

prison fellowship academy graduation

THE ACADEMY

Wherever we have established a strong Academy, men and women in the program are overcoming addiction, learning how to handle conflict, and becoming healthier and more productive citizens of their environments. From there, this Gospel-centered change moves outward, and we see the entire prison becoming safer and more restorative.

At a prison in our nation's heartland, the captain recently told us that the unit where the Academy participants live used to be the most violent and problematic in the entire prison. If an alarm went off, all the correctional officers knew to run there. But since the Academy started, it has become the most peaceable place in the whole prison.

STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION

Hear stories on how lives are transformed, hope is restored, and darkness is replaced with the promise of a future.

READ STORIES FROM THE ACADEMY


WARDEN EXCHANGE

Warden Exchange has equipped dozens of wardens to drive this same culture shift from the top down. Participants gain deep insights and learn practical strategies for facilitating restorative change. As a result, prisons become more positive and peaceful, and the transformed people returning from these facilities become agents of peace and renewal in their neighborhoods.

SUPPORT PRISON FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS

Your support can allow us to grow these revolutionary programs. With your help, lives can be changed, and communities can be restored.

Want to help? Visit our donation page to make a contribution today!

DONATE

DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?

Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you' ll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.

Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, From the CEO Tagged With: In Prison, Prison Fellowship Academy, Warden Exchange

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Angel Tree® Stories
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • In-Prison Stories
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Stories
  • Stories
  • Uncategorized
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Prison Fellowship Reacts to the Passing of John Baker

February 23, 2021

Update on Prison Fellowship and COVID-19

February 19, 2021

Free to Advocate: How Justice Ambassador Robert Taylor Defied the Odds

February 17, 2021

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

RESOURCES & INFORMATION

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets
  • For Wardens & Prison Officials

PF®

NEW ON OUR BLOG

  • Virtual Reporters Roundtable to Focus on Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparities on Tuesday
  • A Desperate Prayer: How Teresa Stanfield Broke Free from Addiction
  • #EndTheDisparity Virtual Reporters Roundtable Scheduled Following Lobby Week
  • Faith Groups Urge Tennessee Lawmakers to Address Criminal Justice Issues This Session

FIND US ONLINE

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN

RECEIVE UPDATES

Sign up to receive news, stories, and information based on your needs and interests.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

PFM®

  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2021 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.