PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Prison Fellowship Academy

Gio Rodriguez met God in a jail cell. Then everything changed.

Why would a 40-something, single mom of two spend her days volunteering behind bars at a men’s prison?

Prison Fellowship ended 2019 with 101 Academy sites established nationwide. We're seeing lives transformed behind bars, one story at a time.

When tensions are mounting in a high-security prison, do words really have power to de-escalate fight?

Going on lockdown at a correctional facility can put the entire population—prisoners and correctional officers—on edge. In a world where it's, "Every man for himself!" can community thrive?

Tammy was surprised at the Academy participants’ dedication. “They began to truly care for one another, standing up for each other, encouraging one another. After all the conflict, I was so amazed and relieved.”

When people talk about prisoners being responsible, it’s usually in the negative sense of culpability. But in the Prison Fellowship Academy, every participant has positive responsibilities, like fulfilling their program commitments and supporting their Academy classmates. And that changes everything.

Thousands of people die each year from drug overdose. But Celebrate Recovery offers hope.

Drugs and fraud sent Brittany to prison, but God was waiting for her. “Prison would set the stage for the rest of my life,” she shares. Read on to discover how God redeemed Brittany from her past and gave her hope for the future.

For most of his life, Josiah steered clear of “crazy” Christians who “make no sense,” just like his Wiccan parents told him to. But in prison, he encountered a "presence" he couldn't explain away.

If you had told Tino 30 years ago that one day he would be a devout Christian, he would have been shocked. But that’s the transformative power of God’s love.

When Cassie was incarcerated for four years, her children were just 4 years and 11 months old. Knowing their pain from experiencing her own father’s incarceration made it almost too much for Cassie to bear. But she made the most of their time apart. Now she’s reunited with her children and making up for lost time.

In 2018, an earthquake shattered roads and shook buildings in Alaska. The epicenter of the quake was traced to Goose Creek Correctional Center. But the incarcerated population there have been experiencing seismic shifts of a more positive kind through Prison Fellowship and The Urban Ministry Institute.

"I stepped out in faith, and I started getting into the Word."

He's the viral video basketball king on social media—but in prison, he's just another guy on the yard.