PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Iowa

From the halls of prison to the halls of government, Marlys has seen many sides of the criminal justice system. Now, she’s taking her advocacy to the next level.

Sam Dye was comfortable, well paid, and in charge as a director at a large government agency. Then he answered an unexpected request that ultimately led him to prison ministry.

  Facing decades behind bars, Robbie needed a miracle.

Over the last quarter century, the number of women behind bars has increased by more than 700 percent. According to The Sentencing Project:

A new initiative in Iowa is encouraging employers to consider hiring men and women with criminal records, highlighting the positive impact such hires can have for businesses and for their communities.

The United States Attorney’s Office will be presenting a series of three workshops across northern Iowa to help assist former prisoners to find and keep employment.

The newly announced president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, James Ackerman, was recently interviewed on WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. During the program, Ackerman described to host Jamie Johnson the work of Prison Fellowship, and how he came to be involved with prison ministry.

There are certain sounds that most of us associate with prisons: the metal clank of a cell door closing, the thud of heavy-booted corrections officers walking the corridors, the voices of angry prisoners echoing against the bare cement walls.

What you might not expect, however, are four-part vocal harmonies.