Happy New Year! I pray you had a blessed Christmas celebrating our Lord’s birth and are excited for this new year. The turn of the calendar always brings thoughts of fresh starts. We see the Lord providing just that through so many of our programs, including the two I want to share with you today.
When we first imagined Create: New Beginnings, our restorative art program, we asked the question: Could art turn pain into beauty? The answer has been a resounding yes! Since its inception, the Lord has been using Create: New Beginnings as a tool for healing and growth for women in prison. Rooted in Scripture and the core values of the Prison Fellowship Academy, Create: New Beginnings empowers women to acknowledge critical emotions and develop self-awareness through the lens of artistic expression.
Jennifer, a Create: New Beginnings participant, shares, “Art helps me escape in my own head, and I find a lot of peace and a way to get away from the prison bars. Art helps me escape that. God lifted so many strongholds from me, and I have more freedom now [behind bars] than I ever had on the outside. I have freedom and joy in Christ.” Jennifer’s freedom could only come through the Lord, and we are so grateful she’s found Him through Create: New Beginnings.
That’s not the only place people in prison are finding freedom.
Every day we hear stories of transformation from participants in the Prison Fellowship Academy. The Academy takes incarcerated men and women through a holistic life transformation journey based on six core values: community, affirmation, productivity, responsibility, restoration, and integrity. Participants learn how to live out those values day by day as they walk together in community.
We recently heard from a Texas Academy participant named JB. He’s been incarcerated for 21 of his 40 years. He shares that he has “participated in a lot of programs within the prison system, starting when I was just a teenager. None of the programs have impacted me as the Prison Fellowship Academy does.” JB has realized what true community means and is learning to give and receive love in a way he never has before. Praise God!
Each January, we hear about New Year’s resolutions. Most of these resolutions end up being short-term changes rather than permanent shifts. Our Academy graduates, however, are equipped with life-changing values that set them on a new trajectory with hope and purpose.
Your prayers and support make these new lives possible. By partnering with Prison Fellowship, you’re providing an opportunity for freedom and a fresh start for those living in prison. No one is beyond God’s redemptive power, and with your help, that redemption is happening every day. Thank you for joining us in this important work.
Rejoicing in His hope,
JAMES J. ACKERMAN President and Chief Executive Officer
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Prison Fellowship P.O. Box 1550, Merrifield, VA, 22116-1550 US
