At the end of the summer, Joe, long-time Angel Tree coordinator from Colorado, received a letter. It was from 17-year-old DuPree.

DuPree wrote:

“I would like to thank you again for another amazing year at camp. I actually would like to thank you for the 8 years you have sponsored me and given me the opportunity to enjoy fun activities, meet awesome, encouraging people, and become closer to Christ …”

DuPree’s father went to prison when he was a toddler.

Once a hell-bent prodigal, Eric is now bent on staying faithful in the small things, serving as a leader in is church, and being a consistent presence in his kids’ lives.

In June, six women graduated from Prison Fellowship’s InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI), an intensive faith-based program, at Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee. One of the graduates shared how participating in the program has changed her entire perspective:

“Before coming to IFI, I was a self-centered, egocentric, selfish woman.

Christianity Today dedicated its September issue to the topic of evangelicals and their ministry to those impacted by crime and incarceration. One excellent article–How Churches Change the Equation for Life After Prison–highlighted the fact that over the past several decades, Christians have entered the arena of prison ministry in hordes, but their focus has been largely on evangelism and discipleship–impact on an individual and heart level–while areas like reentry and criminal justice reform have been largely untouched.

In August 2015, Prison Fellowship and Willow Creek collaborated to bring The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) to more than 1,500 prisoners at 11 prisons. Just last week—at the 2016 Summit—more than 4,000 incarcerated men and women streamed in from 43 prisons across the country.

A recent Maryland policy is making it even harder than it already is to parent from behind bars.

Starting this past November, visitors (adults and children alike) were banned from embracing their incarcerated loved ones at the beginning and during visitations (visitors are allowed a brief hug at the very end of a visit).

This past February, Prison Fellowship celebrated Black History Month with a tour of African American artists who led an evangelism campaign in Illinois.

A few months ago, John Alarid received a surprising email. It was from the girlfriend of a prisoner at Ozark Correctional Center (Missouri) asking if Alarid would be willing to come to the prison to baptize 10 men.

More than 750,000 people in our prison system have a disability, reports RespectAbility, a group that advocates for those with disabilities.

Of those, more than half a million have some sort of cognitive impairment; at least 250,000 have mobility issues; and 140,000 have some kind of vision loss.

How a support group became a family for those with cancer in prison. "I don't want anyone else to go through this alone," says Lorie Longoria.

At Prison Fellowship, we often talk about the cost of incarceration to taxpayers. But what about those taxpayers who are paying even more than what shows up on their tax return?

Last September, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, in collaboration with two other organizations, released the report Who Pays?

God showed up at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (California) the weekend of April 30.

According to one of Prison Fellowship collaborators who attended, “this was the best event they have ever done at a state institution ever!”

“The purpose of the event was to bring value to the men. 

Across the country, jails and prisons have begun implementing a new way for families and friends to stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones: video conferencing. Heres how it works: the “visitor” would log in to a video chat from their home or private room at the facility (depending on how the prison or jail operates) and be connected to the prisoner via a screen.