PRISON FELLOWSHIP®
Prison Fellowship® is the nation's largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. The organization was founded in 1976 by Charles Colson, a former aide to President Nixon who served a seven-month sentence for a Watergate-related crime. Today Prison Fellowship brings restoration to those affected by crime and incarceration nationwide by facilitating prisoners' transformation, supporting prisoners' families and returning citizens, and advocating for a criminal justice system that reflects the God-given dignity and potential of each life. Through an awakening to new hope and life purpose, those who once broke the law are transformed and mobilized to serve their community, replacing the cycle of crime with a cycle of renewal.
- 1973—Charles (“Chuck”) Colson becomes a Christian
- 1974—Chuck pleads guilty to obstruction of justice and is incarcerated
- 1976—Chuck founds Prison Fellowship
- 1982—Mary Kay Beard starts Angel Tree
- 1983—Justice Fellowship is founded
- 1990—First issue of Inside Journal is published and delivered to prisons
- 1993—Chuck is awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
- 1997—The first InnerChange Freedom Initiative (Prison Fellowship Academy) unit opens
- 2000—The first Operation Starting Line (Hope Event) is held behind bars
- 2003—Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team helps to pass the Prison Rape and Elimination Act
- 2007—Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team helps to pass the Second Chance Act
- 2011—Chuck spends final Easter in prison; goes home to be with the Lord in 2012
- 2016—Prison Fellowship celebrates 40 years of ministry; welcomes James Ackerman as new President and CEO
PRISON FELLOWSHIP®'S WORK IN PRISONS
For more than 40 years, Prison Fellowship has been going into correctional facilities, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those behind bars, and offering the hope of true transformation. Through the use of Bible-based programming, and with the help of thousands of committed volunteers, lives are being changed, hope is being restored, and darkness is being replaced with the promise of a future.
Located in select prisons across the country, Prison Fellowship Academies take incarcerated men and women through a holistic life transformation spanning weeks or months, where they are mentored by Prison Fellowship staff and volunteers to become restored individuals both inside and outside of prison. A cornerstone program of Prison Fellowship, the Academy guides participants to identify the life-controlling issues that led to their incarceration and take responsibility for its impact on their community. The Academy specifically targets criminal thinking and behavior, life skills, addictions, victim impact, and prosocial culture change, with the goal of developing prisoners who have leadership potential to serve as positive peer mentors and supporters of constructive prison culture throughout prison systems. Those who complete the program and are preparing for release will have the opportunity to connect to post-release resources and support in metropolitan areas.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative® programs are now Prison Fellowship Academies. For more information see the “Prison Fellowship Academies” section above.
Prison Fellowship Connection Classes offer men and women behind bars the chance to receive regular support and encouragement as they study God’s truth and learn to apply it to their lives. Thousands of trained Prison Fellowship volunteers across the country lead regular Bible studies, drop-in classes, substance abuse recovery groups, and seminars on topics from marriage to anger management. In a truly caring environment, prisoners build community and develop transformative life skills.
In prison yards across the country, men and women are being introduced to the hope of Jesus Christ through one- and two-day Prison Fellowship Hope Events that feature a variety of inspirational speakers and musicians. While providing a brief respite from the challenges of prison life, these events give prisoners the chance to respond to Christ and take the next step of joining a faith community behind bars.
Inside Journal® is a quarterly newspaper printed and distributed by Prison Fellowship to corrections facilities across the country. Written specifically for incarcerated men and women, each issue (offered both in English and Spanish) explains the Gospel in a fresh way, offers encouragement and motivation, and shares practical advice for the daily struggles of prison life. Distributed to prisoners via chaplains, program coordinators, and in-prison volunteers, Inside Journal provides a unique way to share the hope of Jesus with those who may never attend a chapel service or Bible study.
TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) is an intensive theological training course offered by Prison Fellowship in conjunction with World Impact that teaches and equips prisoners to become Christian leaders in prisons and in the urban communities to which many of them will return. Launched in prisons in 2007, TUMI is currently active in 10 states and 36 prisons, both male and female, and averages more than 1,000 prisoner participants yearly. Graduates of the program have both been recognized as leaders in their respective institutions and have made positive transitions back into their communities as spouses, parents, employees, and urban missionaries.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP'S ANGEL TREE®
Angel Tree® creates a pathway to reconciliation between incarcerated parents and their children and families. The bad choices that lead to a prison sentence, as well as the distance created by incarceration, can strain a prisoner's family ties to the breaking point. At Christmas, the emotional pain of a loved one's incarceration grows even more intense, and the financial hardship of a lost breadwinner can mean that there are no presents under the tree. Angel Tree gives incarcerated parents a way to provide a Christmas gift and a personal message, delivered by caring, local volunteers, as a tangible representation of their love. The church, which embodies the hope and grace of the Gospel message to prisoners' families, may continue to minister to the prisoner’s family throughout the year. Every Angel Tree parent's family is also given access to a free, easy-to-read copy of the Bible.
Mary Kay Beard was a safecracker, a bank robber, and one of America’s Most Wanted. Arrested in June of 1972, she quickly collected 11 federal indictments and 35 charges against her. While sitting in an Alabama jail cell, Mary Kay gave her life to Christ.
She was told she would serve between 75 and 180 years. Instead, she served just 6, at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. During that time, Mary Kay noticed how her fellow prisoners would collect toothpaste and soap—gifts from local church groups—and wrap them up as presents for their children at Christmas.
“Most children wouldn’t think much of such small gifts, but in prison there was such joy on their faces!” says Mary Kay. “It didn’t really matter to them what they got; it was from Mama.”
After being paroled, Chuck Colson invited Mary Kay to become their first Alabama state director in 1982. One of her first efforts was coming up with a Christmas project for prisoners.
Mary Kay recalled the toiletries that the incarcerated women gave their children on Christmas. So she and a crew of volunteers began creating a program to provide real gifts for prisoners’ children.
Their plan was to erect a Christmas tree at Birmingham’s Brookwood Mall, encouraging shoppers to buy presents for specific children. Then someone suggested writing the children’s names on paper ornaments shaped like angels—creating an “Angel Tree”!
Mary Kay helped cut out 100 paper-angel ornaments and then visited prisoners to invite them to sign up their children. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, all 100 angels were taken by shoppers. May Kay made more angels, and that year 556 Alabama children were served.
The next year Angel Tree expanded to 12 states, and eventually became a nationwide program. In total, more than 10 million gifts have been given to children on behalf of their incarcerated parents.
Churches around the country deliver the Gospel message and gifts to hundreds of thousands of children (age 18 and under) on behalf of their incarcerated parents. This simple act lets the child know that their parent in prison loves them and has not forgotten them.
Churches can also invite prisoners’ children to a sleepaway summer camp. Every year, thousands of Angel Tree children across the country get to go to experienced, well-established camps on an Angel Tree scholarship, where they have the opportunity to have fun, fellowship with their peers, build relationships with caring camp counselors, and experience the love of God in the great outdoors. At camp many children will make a first-time decision to trust in Jesus Christ or deepen their commitment to Him.
WARDEN EXCHANGE™
Warden Exchange™ is an innovative program of Prison Fellowship® that equips wardens to be transformative leaders in their facilities and in the wider corrections community. Through a revolutionary and highly interactive seven-month-long program that incorporates weekly live video conferences and three in-person residences, we convene wardens from across the country for intensive training in best practices from some of the brightest thought leaders in criminal justice, law, business, and education. Participants graduate from the program with individualized action plans to bring restorative change to their facilities and fulfill their legacy of building a safer, more rehabilitative prison culture.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP®'S ADVOCACY WORK
Prison Fellowship envisions a world where, in the wake of crime, the justice system helps bring about healing and wholeness for everyone affected. Those responsible for crime are held accountable through a fair system that values their human dignity and potential, and communities are mobilized to provide care for victims and restoration for those who have paid their debt to society. Prison Fellowship fights for criminal justice reforms that will bring this dream closer to reality.
