I will never forget the first time I visited a Prison Fellowship Academy. It was 2004, and I had recently met a Prison Fellowship staff member at a father-son retreat. After sharing with me about the ministry’s work, he invited me to visit prison with him. I quickly accepted. He took me to visit an Academy site in Iowa (formerly known as InnerChange Freedom Initiative), and from that very first experience, I was hooked.
As we walked through the general population yard, all of the cliches about prison were on display: It was loud, messy, and depressing. But upon entering the space where the Academy was housed, there was a clear presence of the Holy Spirit, and I was welcomed with such warmth and love I couldn’t believe I was in prison.
Nearly 20 years later, we are still creating spaces within prison where the Lord works to change lives.
When I started at Prison Fellowship almost seven years ago, we had a total of 75 Academy sites. Today, we have 216, with plans to open even more in the coming months. The reason for this is obvious: People are being transformed, and culture is being changed. This is how Jonathan, a California Academy participant, described his experience:
"The Academy is about bringing light and hope into the community. We're building community while also a part of a community. It's like an ever-increasing kingdom. It really is about light, hope, and community building."
Every day, men and women in the Academy are experiencing new hope and life change through this biblically based, holistic life-transformation program. In addition, we’re hearing from our corrections partners that our Academy not only changes the lives of those who participate, but also changes the atmosphere of the prison itself. As our Academy participants become men and women of peace, they bring that peace out into the rest of the prison. They are change agents working behind bars to transform the culture inside, and the Lord is honoring that work.
The word is getting out, and the Lord is opening doors for new Academy sites even faster than we can fund them. Right now, we have the opportunity to open new Academy sites in Georgia and Alabama. We simply need the funding to get them off the ground. Would you consider joining us in our goal to get as many Academy sites launched as we have open doors?
For all who have already joined us in making the Prison Fellowship Academy possible, let me share this word from Isaac in Florida:
To those who give to the Academy, it makes a big difference not just in our lives, but our children's lives, and that affects the future. Yes, we made a mistake and we've done wrong, but a child shouldn't suffer because of that. Instilling these morals and ethics into us, we can take it back and start at yourself, and then your home, and then you change the world.
We covet your prayers and support as we seek to change more lives in the name of Jesus. We have an opportunity to change men, women, and the generations to come after them, and with the Lord’s guiding and your help, we’ll see that happen!
Seeking Him,
JAMES J. ACKERMAN President and Chief Executive Officer
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