Darryl describes the positive impact of that one decision: “God wrecked my life, and I ain’t been the same since.”
He began pursuing Christ and left drug dealing behind. On his new path, he knew he needed guidance—and he found it in the Academy, just three years after it launched at the Vance Unit.
Years later, Darryl would join Prison Fellowship’s staff as the director of the same program.
The Academy at Carol Vance became the model for a new site in Minnesota. Over time, dozens more states would welcome the program in men’s and women’s prisons.
“When you bring people together inside prison and decide to treat each other with respect and dignity, things start to change,” says Dan Kingery, a former Prison Fellowship executive who helped oversee new Academy sites.
From Texas to Minnesota, Prison Fellowship’s impact has deepened and expanded with intensive programming like the Academy and Prison Fellowship Grow, as incarcerated men and women discover their God-given purpose. Prison Fellowship Lead enables graduates of these programs to live out their transformation and be servant leaders in their communities, even behind bars.
To the east, in North Carolina, Rev. Aaron Johnson shared Prison
Fellowship’s conviction that everyone, inside and
outside prison, is made with dignity and purpose. In 1990, he stood before Prison Fellowship leadership with a bold request: to help reach every prisoner in the state with the Gospel. Rev. Johnson’s prayerful plea not only led to a series of evangelistic events across North Carolina; it animated the vision for the Prison Fellowship Hope Events that are still bringing light to prison yards nationwide today.
At each Hope Event®, local churches partner with the Church inside to encounter Jesus together. Incarcerated men and women—along with correctional staff—hear God’s Word through inspiring speakers and powerful worship. They receive prayer and spiritual resources like Inside Journal®, our quarterly newspaper that reaches more than 1 million readers each year. Attendees may feel compelled to join a faith community and engage further with Prison Fellowship.
Whether on the prison yard or in a prison classroom, outside volunteers have an opportunity to grow together with their incarcerated brothers and sisters.
Longtime Prison Fellowship volunteers like Dave McElyea know this firsthand. He has spent more than 35 years going behind bars to serve with the Academy.
“My experience has made me dig deeper into Scripture and other materials to answer questions and to take a deeper look at my personal walk,” says Dave.
When a person goes to prison, it affects the whole family, including children.
Mary Kay Beard, once known as “the Bonnie Parker of Alabama,” went to prison for burglary, grand larceny, and armed robbery. She saw the way mothers in prison saved up toiletries and soaps to send as gifts to their children. That image stayed with her long after she surrendered her life to Jesus in prison and was finally released. And like Chuck Colson, she would never forget those left behind.
After her release from the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, Mary Kay joined the staff of Prison Fellowship. One of her first assignments was to start a Christmas program.
In 1983, Mary Kay rallied church volunteers from around her state to deliver presents to the children of those incarcerated, reaching hundreds of kids. Through this act of goodwill, Prison Fellowship Angel Tree® was born—and has since grown to serve more than 13 million children.
Angel Tree connects incarcerated parents with their kids through a personalized Christmas gift, a note of love, and the Gospel. But Angel Tree goes beyond Christmas, giving kids an opportunity to attend Christian summer camps, sports camps, and STEM camps, and enfolding their families into church life.
Time and again, in 50 years of ministry, we’ve witnessed relationships restored against all odds. Children find healing, connection, and freedom from shame as they develop hope for the future. And prisoners who stay connected with their families have far better behavioral records and reentry outcomes than their counterparts, as recent studies have shown.
We’ve also seen that providing the right opportunities can help children overcome their challenges and thrive. Our growing coalition of corporate and nonprofit partners—known as the First and Second Chances Philanthropy Council—has agreed with this approach, recognizing that providing both first chances and second chances is the best way to help communities affected by incarceration.
During one visit to a notorious state penitentiary, Chuck Colson was met with a question from an incarcerated man: If given the chance to speak on inhumane prison conditions, what would Chuck say?
Chuck then asked what that prisoner would do in response, if Chuck spoke out. The man said he would start a Bible study.
Soon after, Chuck spoke at a prayer breakfast. He expressed his growing conviction that Prison Fellowship must do more than simply present the Gospel to prisoners. Their sincerity in ministry would be measured by how well they cared for the needs of prisoners and the conditions in which they lived.
Justice and righteousness flow from God’s very nature. Every person impacted by incarceration or injustice is deeply important to Him. Chuck identified the need for the Gospel not only to change people’s hearts, but to redeem the broken structures that scorn human worth and dignity.
He went on to form Prison Fellowship’s advocacy arm, then called Justice Fellowship. The ministry began working to raise awareness on issues like proportional punishment, voting rights for people with a criminal record, alternatives to incarceration, and probation reform.
Over the years, Prison Fellowship has become a leading voice shaping the public debate on justice at the state and federal levels. We have a robust presence in six target states—Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia—and have helped to successfully change laws related to occupational licensing and the overuse of driver’s license suspensions, among many other issues. We also spearhead a national movement, Second Chance Month®, to shine a light on the barriers faced by people with a criminal record and to unlock opportunities for second chances.
As we promote laws that honor human dignity, we are empowering Christians to support justice that restores as trained Justice Ambassadors. Many believers who volunteer with Prison Fellowship have a criminal record, and they influence lawmakers by sharing their personal experiences—powerful stories of people impacted by a system they are now working to change.
With decades of experience in the prison space, Prison Fellowship shares common goals with departments of corrections and has become an asset to prison leaders. Since 2013, Warden Exchange® has inspired and equipped correctional leaders to reimagine prison. Our flagship program for wardens has grown in participants and in improvements across the U.S. prison system. Correctional leaders across the country invite Prison Fellowship as a trusted partner in building environments where genuine and lasting change can take root. Many wardens have welcomed our programs into states where we once had little ministry presence.
Colby Braun, director of corrections in North Dakota, is just one of many wardens who have benefited from Warden Exchange. His vision is already helping transform prisons throughout his state to be more restorative. Leaders like him share our core belief in the God-given worth and potential of every person, regardless of their past.
“It is a privilege to partner with Prison Fellowship, which has made a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people over its rich history,” said Director Braun.
