Dear John,

Happy New Year to you!

Each new calendar year brings such a sense of excitement and anticipation for what the Lord will do through the ministry. Since joining Prison Fellowship more than five years ago, I have seen the Lord work in amazing ways, and all of us at Prison Fellowship are trusting that He is going to continue to do His work in 2022.

We recently launched a new women’s Prison Fellowship Academy cohort in Virginia, and I’m so encouraged to report that they are quickly building a peaceful community built on hope and trust. The Academy manager for that group of women recently shared that as they were discussing a lesson on mapping key events in their lives, one of the participants related a particularly poignant and moving realization she had working on that lesson:

 "All the times I have looked back over the events in my life, this is the first time I ever felt sorry for the little girl [I was] ... .”

That moment of vulnerability helped to build a sense of trust among the women, and that trust is crucial to each of them overcoming the hurts, traumas, and bad decisions that brought them to prison. The Academy manager shared, “There is now an otherworldly peace and trust in the Academy unit that is months ahead of its time, and I am so thankful to be able to witness it.” Praise be to God!

We are seeing lives being transformed and generations changed through Prison Fellowship Academy. Our participants are doing the work necessary to change the trajectories of their lives—both while they’re still in prison and when they get out. But it’s so disheartening to see the barriers that so many of them face when they return to their communities, including the inability to get housing and jobs.

That’s why we are committed to working together with churches and partners to promote second chances. This April we will celebrate our sixth annual Second Chance Month. Would you consider encouraging your church or organization to join us as we celebrate second chances?

Michelle, one of our second chance supporters, spoke at her church during Second Chance Month, encouraging her fellow church members to help those who are returning to our communities from prison. “As believers who have experienced the ultimate second chance by receiving God's forgiveness into our hearts, we are compelled to act and advocate for justice reform that provides full restoration," Michelle told the congregation.

We couldn’t agree more! We would love to have you join us as we work to help returning citizens and their communities flourish.

I am so grateful that you have joined us in the work we’ve been entrusted to do this year. I pray that you would be reminded that your faithful prayers and support are having an eternal impact on the lives of those we serve through the ministry the Lord has given us.

Honoring Him,