Dear John,

Our Prison Fellowship program teams are busier than ever! The demand and need for the work the Lord has given us continue to increase, and I’m excited to say we have been sprinting to keep up with that demand.

We just received news that we shipped more than 20,500 Bibles to prisoners in September alone—praise Jesus! This is a testament to the fact that despite COVID-19, the Word of God still is reaching through prison bars across the country.

Distribution for Floodlight, our digital platform providing free inspirational video content for airing on in-prison television systems and tablets (where available), continues to grow. Floodlight is now available in 45 states with a potential reach of 504,374. Floodlight is softening hearts and opening doors in more ways than one. In addition to the amazing encouragement and inspiration the content is bringing to prisoners across the country, Floodlight is also opening doors in states where we’ve been challenged to make traction with our other programs. We’re confident we’re now laying the groundwork for even more life-changing programming available in prisons across the country.

Our advocacy team continues its tireless legislative work both on the national and state levels. We’re continuing to press for Congress to advance a bipartisan COVID-19 response that includes Pell restoration for incarcerated students, bipartisan federal sentencing relief, and support for state and local governments working to safely reduce their incarcerated populations. In addition, with the hope of advancing reform in states across the country, our work also continues on limiting pretrial detention to those who pose an immediate risk of harm to public safety or a strong risk of not returning for their trial.

On a lighter note, our Angel Tree team hosted a “Bowling with Blue” event in Las Vegas, where children of incarcerated parents laced up their bowling shoes—alongside local police officers—for a day of fun together and hearing the Gospel. Many of the officers, affiliated with Adopt-A-Cop Nevada, also came to last year’s bowling clinic to support young participants. This year’s event included face masks and social distancing protocol for all participants.

Our Angel Tree team also continues its work to recruit churches to support Angel Tree Christmas this year. With in-prison family visits continuing to be limited due to health concerns, it’s more important than ever that we ensure every child receives their parent’s gift and the Gospel this Christmas. And our team is working hard to find the churches willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus for each of these precious children this Christmas.

None of this work would be possible without your continued support. So from all of us at Prison Fellowship and those we serve—thank you! We are a ministry committed to prayer, and we would be honored to lift up any requests you would like to share for you or your family.