Dear John,

Happy New Year! I pray you were able to enjoy some well-deserved time celebrating the birth of our Savior. Martha and I enjoyed some pre-Christmas time and celebrating with our son, Holden, and happily FaceTimed on Christmas Day with our daughter, Lily, and son-in-law, Robert, who are stationed in Hawaii and couldn’t make it back to California to be with us in person. As has been my own tradition, I also spent the last few days of the break seeking the Lord for His guidance for Prison Fellowship, as we enter 2021 and begin our strategic planning for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Each year my senior staff and I review our 10-year plan and discuss any adjustments that need to be made as we strategize about our upcoming one- to three-year goals for the ministry. Much of the discussion this year centered on what new offerings inspired by our COVID-19 pivot we believe should be carried into the new fiscal year as official programs or projects. The team overwhelmingly agreed that Floodlight, our online platform providing inspiring Christian video content to prisons in 45 states, should remain, so we’ll be looking at the best ways to improve and resource that valuable new offering in the coming year.

With the continuation of Floodlight, we’re also planning on creating more virtual and “outside-in” Hope Events. By continuing to find creative ways to host these events, we can ensure that all those who need the hope of Christ can receive it, even when we can’t go inside the walls physically.

Speaking of sending hope inside, I’m excited to share that, since July 1, we have been able to provide 62,891 Inside Journal Life Recovery Bibles in English and Spanish to prisoners across the country! Nothing can stop the Word of God from moving.

And as we celebrate another successful Angel Tree season, we also plan to keep our Virtual Angel Tree platform available to ensure we can always serve all of the children who need to receive a gift, the Gospel, and a personal note from their incarcerated parent.

As we begin to prepare for the next fiscal year, I also want to make sure that you have an opportunity to celebrate with us all that the Lord did in our last fiscal year! We gathered the most exciting highlights and put them together in our recent annual report. All of the amazing work represented there is made possible by your faithful support, so on behalf of all those we serve: Thank you!

I am praying a happy and healthy new year for you and your loved ones! If you or your family have any prayer needs, we would be happy to lift those up on your behalf.