Those were Jesus’ instructions in Luke 10:37 (NIV) to a self-justifying religious scholar who had to admit the mercy-dispensing Samaritan in Jesus’ parable behaved as a true neighbor.

There’s nothing new under the sun. Jesus’ response to Who is my neighbor? still stands as a mandate for Christians today. As God’s people, our faith calls us to action and accountability, to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In our focus on the individual, Christians sometimes lose sight of the Gospel’s community implications. Not only do souls require redemption, but so do societal systems and structures. Since the fall of humanity, individual and systemic sin threaten and destroy the safety and peace God intended. The results are all around us: Broken lives, relationships, and communities in need of the neighborly love and mercy Jesus prescribed.

At Prison Fellowship^®, we are guided by the biblical teaching that God created humanity in His own image, and no life is beyond God’s redemptive touch. Our faith drives us to work to bring the restorative justice envisioned and empowered by God and His Word into the broken lives, relationships, and communities we serve.

As the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform, we walk alongside and serve individuals and communities living the painful realities of crime, violence, and victimization. For more than 40 years, we’ve recognized our neighbors are found across color lines, economic status, educational attainment—and both inside and outside of prison walls.

Our experience in ministering to our neighbors has brought us face to face with racism, an individual and systemic sin that violates human dignity and worth. We have witnessed firsthand the stark disparities in the criminal justice system. As the data attest, people of color often experience greater rates of arrest, greater use of force under apprehension and while in custody, higher occurrences of prosecution, and harsher sentences. Racial bias and injustice contribute directly to these trends, as do other pervasive upstream issues like instability in housing and family structures, unequal access to quality education, and poverty.

Prison Fellowship works hard every day to advance justice that restores and reflects the God-given value of all persons. In some cases, legislation can help mitigate inequalities, and we have been advocating for proportional sentencing and justice that addresses the systemic biases and prejudices borne by people of color.

We believe that Jesus—Himself brought to trial, executed, buried, and brought to life again—offers hope, healing, and a new purpose for each life. He can make even the most broken people and situations whole again. Through an amazing awakening to new hope and life purpose, those who once broke the law are transformed and mobilized to serve their neighbors and communities, replacing the cycle of crime with a cycle of renewal. These core beliefs drive all we do—from prison cells to the halls of power. And we invite you to join us.

Send a letter asking your governor to seek restorative solutions and “remember those in prison” by addressing racial disparity in the criminal justice system.

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