As we look toward Christmas and the new year ahead, we at Prison Fellowship are celebrating the incredible ways God expanded our ministry in 2023. Grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage, and join me to look back at some highlights of the last year.
Prison Fellowship is now providing intensive in-prison programming in more than 200 locations across 41 states, guiding incarcerated men and women to become good citizens in prison and out. We also launched Pathways, a program helping Academy graduates support one another as they live out their transformation. This year, Pathways participants served their communities through 25 service projects.
All year, we sought to share the Gospel with men and women through Hope Events on prison yards and free Christ-centered content that’s available to hundreds of thousands of prisoners in print and digitally. Nationwide, 123,874 Bibles were distributed to incarcerated men and women, and Inside Journal, our quarterly in-prison newspaper, was delivered to more than 1 million incarcerated readers.
Create: New Beginnings empowered more than 300 women to use art to process trauma and find healing in the Lord. Thanks to a partnership with Tyndale House Publishers, the program is now offered as a small group resource for women everywhere. Meanwhile, Warden Exchange helped 151 prison leaders reimagine the outcomes of incarceration and change the culture of their facilities. This year’s graduates represented 100 facilities in 22 states!
Outside prison, we are set to provide more than 250,000 children with a Christmas gift on behalf of their incarcerated mom or dad. We’ve grown Angel Tree to provide life-changing summer camps, sports camps, and year-round opportunities, and more than 6,400 children heard the Gospel at an Angel Tree sports or summer camp in 2023. To help serve families all year, the First Chance Network relaunched this year in five pilot cities and held 23 virtual and in-person events. The network brings together nonprofit community partners to provide experiences like STEM camps, health clinics, and career training.
With a team of Justice Ambassadors and more than 43,000 Justice Advocates standing with us for justice reform, we’ve advocated for a fair criminal justice system and for a society that supports second chances.
Behind every number is a person with an amazing story. Demarcus thought prison would be a pit stop until the Academy helped him radically transform.
Pam and Aaron began their relationship on the run, but God brought them peace amid chaos. For
Rick, Angel Tree was a rare chance to be there for his daughter while he was incarcerated—and that changed everything.
All these celebrations are possible because of God’s grace and leading—and thanks to you, our staff, volunteers, supporters, and advocates. Thank you, and may you rest and rejoice in the miracle of our Savior’s birth. If there’s any way we can be praying for you, please let our prayer team know.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and yours!
Joyfully,
HEATHER RICE-MINUS President and Chief Executive Officer-Elect
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