Prison Fellowship International

Transforming Hearts and LivesA call to share the Gospel with prisoners and

rescue their children in the name of Christ

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . I was in prison and you came to visit me.”(Matthew 25:35–36)

Prison Fellowship International

Jesus was a Prisoner.He was arrested, taken away by soldiers,

and held captive. He understands what

prisoners feel—anger, fear, loneliness,

alienation, and abandonment.

He understands their situation. And He

invites them to join Him on a journey

of hope, grace, mercy, and forgiveness

—a journey that will lead them to Him.

Prisoners and their children need to hear

about Jesus. More than anything, they

need to know God loves them and He

can change their lives forever.

0001 Transforming Hearts and Lives

Prison Fellowship International 02

But prisoners are one of the least-reached groups in the world. They are locked away, isolated, and vilified. They are often overlooked. Many prisoners serve their entire sentences without ever hearing about God’s mercy and forgiveness.

How will they hear the Good News?

And who will rescue and care for their

children, who are often abandoned and

in hiding when a parent is incarcerated?

Prison Fellowship International is committed

to sharing the Gospel with prisoners.

We are also committed to caring for

the children left behind due to the

imprisonment of a father or mother.

This is our passion. We do it because that’s

what Jesus tells His followers to do: “For I

was hungry and you gave me something

to eat . . . I was in prison and you came

to visit me” (Matthew 25:35–36).

Prison Fellowship International is the

largest prison ministry in the world.

We have a bold and ambitious new vision.

God is calling us to exponentially grow

our outreach to prisoners and their children.

In response, we developed a ground-

breaking initiative to take the Gospel

of Mark to hundreds of thousands

of prisoners. We also launched a unique

program to care for the children

of prisoners who suffer due to their

parents’ incarceration.

Our vision over the next five years is

to invite 1 million prisoners to begin or

renew a relationship with Christ and His

Church. We aim to care for 100,000

children of prisoners—children who are

hungry, alone, missing out on school,

and living in crumbling shacks and other

dangerous places.

With God’s help, we will ramp up our

ministry in an unprecedented way, because

although prisoners may be forgotten by

society, they are never forgotten by God.

We invite you to join us in achieving our bold new vision and focused mission.


“Go into all the world and preach the gospel,” Jesus told us in Mark 16:15. Prison Fellowship

International is uniquely positioned to answer this call of the Great Commission—through our history,

ministry impact, geographic reach, leadership team experience, and ability to scale. We have:

Uniquely Equipped for Prison Ministry

The world’s most extensive prison ministry

Local staff and volunteers—a grassroots, culturally-diverse, faith-unified movement

Self-funded, self-governed affiliates in two-thirds of the world’s countries

Long-standing, effective relationships with governments, providing us with unparalleled access to prisons

Awareness of all aspects of prison outreach: institutional realities of prisons; diverse cultural, religious, and social contexts; and the need for respect for all Christian traditions

A new and innovative evangelization program that innately appeals to prisoners by addressing their specific psychosocial and spiritual needs

04

Most of all, we have the vision,

passion, leadership, sense of

urgency, and readiness to scale up

our outreach.

Prison officials are asking for us to

come and work with inmates, and we

know through experience the only

thing that truly transforms prisoners’

lives is when they accept Jesus Christ

as their Lord and Savior.

Children are waiting for our help to

receive food, education, and better

housing. We are actively working in

these areas and are ready to do so

much more with your support. It is

time to act.

Why Now?

8.7 million prisoners ArE INCArCErATEd

outside the United States—they have no hope and

are lost without the Gospel

80% of these prisoners WILL rE-OFFENd

and go back to prison within three years without

a change of heart

10 million children

of prisoners are WITHOUT A PArENT and are at risk

of abuse and exploitation

1 million children

of prisoners LIvE IN HOrrIFIC CIrCUMSTANCES—

abandoned, begging in the streets, trafficked, or even

sharing a prison cell with their incarcerated parent

The Facts



“For the first time in my life I feel like that empty space inside my heart that I have tried on my own to

fill is not empty anymore ... my wish is to be a servant of the Almighty God, inside and outside prison.

I feel blessed and happy now that Jesus is in my life.”—A prisoner who participated in The Prisoner’s Journey Bible study course

redeeming Prisoners’ Lives Through the Gospel

Prison Fellowship International is excited to expand our breakthrough evangelization program for prisoners. Called The Prisoner’s Journey, it is designed to introduce the person of Jesus Christ to prisoners and invite them to begin a journey of personal and spiritual transformation.

The Prisoner’s Journey takes

a radically different approach

to Bible study for prisoners.

Unlike other study programs, it

is a comprehensive, end-to-end

endeavor. It includes everything

from a plan for promoting the

program to provision of ongoing

discipleship opportunities after

the course is finished. It is a

structured, repeatable, and

scalable program. The Prisoner’s

Journey is easy to use, meets

the requirements of most

prison authorities, and can be

implemented by any of our

national affiliates in prisons within

their own countries.

The Prisoner’s Journey was

created to reveal the Gospel

without addition or manipulation.

Our executive director in South

Africa reports that a difference

in the prison environment is

apparent within months of

introducing The Prisoner’s Journey.

About 1,200 prisoners were

enrolled in the program by mid-

October, and “we are seeing that

there is less violence, less fighting,

and fewer riots—a different

prison culture—in prisons where

The Prisoner’s Journey has been

offered. As soon as there’s a heart

change, there’s a life change.”

This course takes Jesus at His

word when He said, “And I, when

I am lifted up from the earth, will

draw all people to myself” (John

12:32). In countries where we are

piloting The Prisoner’s Journey,

we already see tangible impact.

The change in prisoners’ lives is

miraculous—just listen to Percy,

who is serving a 60-year sentence

in a South African prison:

“Before I started my walk with the

Lord Jesus Christ, I traveled the

path of destruction and death …

Having committed abominable

and wicked atrocities against my

fellow human beings, I ended up

in prison ... Jesus is the beginning,

a mighty good God, and in Him

all is new. The things that I used

to do, I do them no more!”

06

A Unique Outreach to Prisoners



The Prisoner’s Journey

Preparation (3-4 months):

In this phase, national affiliates create and utilize plans to determine how many prisons and prisoners they will reach. They order materials, hire staff, train volunteers, and liaise with prison officials.

Promotion (2-3 months):

In this phase, affiliates begin

to introduce and promote

The Prisoner’s Journey inside

selected prisons. A number of

promotional activities take place,

culminating in a large, in-prison

invitational event. The theme

of the promotional activities

is simple: “You are invited on

a journey to meet and get to

know a fellow prisoner—Jesus

of Nazareth.” The Course (2 months):

This course, based on the Gospel

of Mark, is run by trained leaders.

Prisoners are invited to explore

a relationship with Jesus. They

learn about who He is, why He

came, and what He calls them

to do. A public graduation

ceremony affirms the prisoners’

achievements in completing the

course—something that can be

very powerful for a person who

views himself or herself as a

failure in life.

discipleship(ongoing):

Program coordinators and

national affiliate leaders choose

one of five pre-qualified

programs following the course.

The overarching goal of The

Prisoner’s Journey is to invite

prisoners to know Jesus, and

this does not end after the

eight-week course is completed.

The discipleship phase provides

prisoners with an opportunity to

deepen their understanding of

Jesus and learn how to live the

Christian life. Evaluation(ongoing):

Tools are supplied to evaluate all

aspects of The Prisoner’s Journey.

This step is critical to ensure the

program accomplishes our goals.

The Prisoner’s Journey unfolds in the following phases:

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”(John 12:32)

08Prison Fellowship International


reaching the WorldPrison Fellowship International works in more than 125 countries.

There are 45,000 Prison Fellowship

International volunteers around

the world.

These volunteers are active in

31% of prisons in their countries.

As a result, Prison Fellowship

International has direct access

to 2 million prisoners.

10 million children have an

incarcerated parent.

Albania

Angola

Antigua and

Barbuda

Armenia

Australia

Bahamas

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belize

Benin

Bermuda

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

British virgin Islands

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cayman Islands

Central African

republic

Chile

Colombia

Costa rica

Cote d’Ivoire

(Ivory Coast)

Curaçao

Czech republic

d.r. Congo

dominica

Ecuador

El Salvador

England

and Wales

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Guam

Guatemala

Guernsey

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

Iceland

India

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kyrgyzstan

Latvia

10

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Lithuania

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Mongolia

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Northern Ireland

Northern

Mariana Islands

Norway

Pakistan

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto rico

russia

rwanda

St. vincent and

the Grenadines

Scotland

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Solomon Islands

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Suriname

Swaziland

Switzerland

Tanzania

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and

Tobago

U.S. virgin Islands

Uganda

Ukraine

United States

of America*

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe


* Ministry activities within the United States are conducted by Prison Fellowship Ministries.


Chenda, 11, had no parents and no one to care for him. Thin and tired, he had

barely anything to eat. His father was sent to prison and, just three months

later, his mother died. Chenda dropped out of school and was forced into child

labor in order to survive. “Now that I don’t have my mother, I am so sad,” he said. “I have to

work for other people. They just use me and beat me and get angry because I don’t have parents.”

Chenda’s days began at a brickyard in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He did eight hours of back-breaking

work each day, carrying bricks under the hot sun. It was dangerous. At the end of each day, Chenda

received 25 cents, enough to buy a handful of rice. He longed to return to school but that was not

possible unless someone intervened. With his father in prison, he lived as an outcast. “I miss my mother

so much,” Chenda said. “She always told me that she loves me.”

rescuing Children of Prisoners

Many are forced to beg for

food or work from dawn to

dusk, like Chenda.

Another 10,000 children are

growing up in filthy, densely

crowded prison cells with their

parent, where they’re vulnerable

to exploitation and abuse. They

have nowhere to turn.

All of these children are “the

least of these,” the ones Jesus

tells us to care for. That’s why


created a unique program to

care for these children whose

lives are at stake and who need

urgent help. In fact, children of

prisoners frequently fall between

the cracks of what other child-

profound effect on their emotional

and psychological well-being.

Special assistance to maintain

an ongoing connection with

the incarcerated parent. In the

developing world, it is difficult

and costly to visit someone in a

distant prison. But children need

their parents, and they suffer if

the relationship is ruptured.


has a bold vision and plan to

dramatically expand the care

we provide to innocent children

of prisoners. By showing them

someone cares, we help them

rebuild their trust in people

—and in a heavenly Father who

loves them.

focused programs provide.

Their specific needs include:

Assurance of safety and

protection in dangerous living

conditions. With at least one

parent in prison, the remaining

parent’s ability to provide care is

stretched thin. The children face

a high risk of being trafficked

into the sex trade, forced into

child labor, or being drawn into

gang life and the violence of

the streets.

Extra support to combat social

stigma, build confidence, and

help them excel in school.

Children of prisoners are rejected

by their peers simply because they

have a parent in prison. This has a

12

A Unique Outreach to the Children of PrisonersMore than 7 million children outside the United States have lost one or both parents

to imprisonment. One million of these children are living in dire circumstances. They

are hungry, frightened, and alone.

Prison Fellowship International understands the needs of prisoners and their families. The

needs of children of prisoners differ from those of children sponsored by other organizations.



The Children of Prisoners Partnership is a child-focused program specifically for children of prisoners

outside the United States. No other organization has tackled the needs of this group of children on

such a large scale. Prison Fellowship International seeks to ensure that these children receive four

essential supports:

What is the Children of Prisoners Partnership?

Spiritual and Social Support Children receive Christian guidance to help heal the emotional and spiritual wounds caused by rejection and loss, and to help build their confidence.

Education We encourage school attendance and provide assistance with school uniforms and supplies so children develop the skills they need for a brighter future.

Safety Our caseworkers regularly visit children to ensure their urgent needs are being met, including the need for safety and protection.

Good Health We ensure children have enough nutritious food to eat and receive essential medical

care to restore health and hope.

14

In Cambodia, our

volunteers and staff searched

for a father whose wife was in

prison and who was struggling

to care for their children, ages

1 and 6. We discovered their

home was little more than a tarp

stretched over a bed, located

next to an open sewer.

Our caseworker got the family

into an apartment and we

subsidized the rent payments.

We also helped the father

find work. As a result of our

intervention, there was an

immediate positive impact on

the health and safety of these

two children.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In Zambia, every child in

the program is going to school

and has uniforms and school

supplies. Before being brought

into the program, many children

were not able to afford school.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“We’re finding

similar stories in different

countries as we enroll children

in sponsorship,” says our

program manager. “Often the

grandmothers look after their

grandchildren, and they burst

into tears when they learn that

help has arrived. They tell us:

‘We never knew that anyone

would help us.’ Their tears and

gratitude are overflowing.”

In Costa Rica, a

grandmother’s home burned

down. This woman was raising

her two grandchildren in poverty

while her husband was in prison

for dealing drugs.


helped the family into a safe

home, and we monitored the

children to ensure they were

receiving food and education.

Here’s how we know we are already making a difference:

What is the Children of Prisoners Partnership?


We designed and launched our child-focused program in 2013. Currently, we are

offering programs in eight countries: Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, India,

Malaysia, Nepal, Rwanda, and Zambia.


“As a condemned convict, I used to have sleepless nights. But through The Prisoner’s Journey, I realized

that Jesus Christ has paid the ransom for my sins, and for the first time since coming to prison, I have

peace.”—Ayo, a prisoner in Nigeria

Next Steps to reach Prisoners and their Children

The next step is to translate The

Prisoner’s Journey materials into five

more languages and test the program

in 15 countries in 2015. In 2016, we

aim to scale The Prisoner’s Journey to

60 countries. By 2020, we envision

it in 100 countries, working with

2,500 dedicated volunteer leaders.

We see a movement of Christ’s hope

spreading through the world’s prisons

in Nigeria. Our ambitious goal is to

reach 1 million prisoners outside the

United States with the life-changing

Gospel message by 2020. The limiting

factor for expanding The Prisoner’s

Journey is not interest or ability,

but resources. Please prayerfully

consider supporting this impactful,

transformative ministry of Prison

Fellowship International.

and transforming lives forever. Prison

officials, along with our volunteers,

appreciate The Prisoner’s Journey.

Through it they experience the

Gospel’s impact. “The beauty of The

Prisoner’s Journey is that it does not

discriminate—anybody can participate

because it only presents facts about

Jesus Christ. It is not preaching,”

said the deputy controller of prisons

The Prisoner’s Journey

Our initial pilots of The Prisoner’s Journey in South Africa and Nigeria revealed prisoners are eager to sign

up for the course and prisons are asking for us to come and implement it.

16

Prison Fellowship International’s goal is to launch our ground-breaking program in countries around the

world to care for children of prisoners. We are committed to reach 100,000 children in need by 2020.

It takes approximately three years to

get this unique children’s program

up and running to the point where it

is self-sustaining through sponsors’

monthly contributions.

during those first three years, we

still need to care for the enrolled

children and pay for program costs.

of children of prisoners, who

fall through the cracks of other

sponsorship programs and who

desperately need help and love

Please prayerfully consider

partnering with Prison Fellowship

International to help rescue these

forgotten children.

Prison Fellowship International invites

potential partners to help us launch

programs for the children of prisoners

by underwriting the program cost

during this launch period.

This is an exciting opportunity to

be part of an innovative, urgently-

needed response to the dire plight

Children of Prisoners Partnership


Prison Fellowship International has a bold, faith-based vision and plan. But to carry out our plan

successfully, we need to invest in organizational transformation.

Investing in Transformation

We need the resources of time, talent,

and treasure from committed partners

like you to wisely and strategically

invest in our national ministries and

help to build their ability to provide

quality programming. We need to

invest in our staff, and work with

them to strengthen their capacity

in areas like financial management,

volunteer recruitment and training,

board development, fundraising, and

program management, monitoring,

and evaluation.

This investment promises a big

return—it helps grow local impact

in a significant way, reaching more

beneficiaries more quickly in the

name of Christ.

Prison Fellowship International seeks

Kingdom-minded individuals, churches,

and funding institutions who have an

interest in working together with us to

launch impactful programs and who

can clearly see the future potential.

If you have an interest in a particular

country or region, or if you’re someone

who understands the need for start-

up capital and you’re excited by

what the future of Prison Fellowship

International holds, we invite you to

partner with us.

Please prayerfully consider

investing to build capacity in our

staff, systems, and operations.

It is a rescue mission.

Investing in transformation is a

challenging, risky, and courageous

decision. But the required investment

to successfully launch, sustain,

grow, and realize the vision of Prison

Fellowship International will help lay

the foundation for prison ministries

worldwide to help many more

prisoners and their children.

It nurtures indigenous ministry—it

builds on local resources and talent,

involves local volunteers and churches,

and reflects local context and culture.

We believe this is the best way to

create strong, sustainable programs for

prisoners and their children.


Together...

PFI:Transforming Lives 18

Your Involvement in this Launch Effort

We hope that you will enthusiastically and prayerfully partner with us in serving Christ through

international prison ministry.

Please prayerfully consider partnering with Prison Fellowship International as we passionately reach

out to prisoners and their children around the world so that we may all experience lives transformed

and futures restored.

... we have the power and

presence to reach inside

a prison and share the

life-transforming love of

Jesus with people who are

rejected by society.

... we have the ability

to protect and care for

a vulnerable child of a

prisoner who is hungry,

who lives in a shack or a

slum, and who is forced to

work instead of going to

school. We can change that

child’s life.

... we can have the joy

of fulfilling the Great

Commission. “Go and

preach the gospel to

everyone,” Jesus said, and

that includes prisoners, who

are among the last groups

to be reached with the

Gospel in our time.

... we can help develop

leaders in global prison

ministry, and strengthen the

body of Christ worldwide.

... we can help reach

many more prisoners and

their children in the name

of Christ by investing in

our vision and the up-front

capacity needs of

our ministry.



Chuck Colson’s vision for International Prison MinistryPrison Fellowship International was born out of the experience of Chuck Colson,

former aide to President Nixon. Convicted for a Watergate-related offense,

Colson served seven months in prison. during that time he saw and experienced

the difference faith in Jesus Christ makes in people’s lives. He became convinced

that the real solution to crime is found through spiritual renewal.

When Colson walked into freedom, he had

a new mission in life: To reach out to men

and women behind bars, and give them

the opportunity to turn their lives around

through Christ.

In 1979, he founded Prison Fellowship

International, extending the mission and work

beyond the United States, and following

God’s call to proclaim the Gospel worldwide

and alleviate the suffering of prisoners and

their families. We are the largest, most

extensive association of national Christian

ministries working within the criminal justice

field. We engage 1,000 full-time staff

and board members and train, equip, and

mobilize 45,000 volunteers in more than 125

countries and territories. Each of our national

ministries is indigenous, primarily volunteer-

based, and trans-denominational, enabling us

to minister to prisoners and their families in

culturally relevant ways.

Prison Fellowship International is called and

dedicated to communicating the redemptive

love and transforming power of Jesus Christ

to prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and

victims of crime around the world.

We believe all people have value, deserve mercy, and are

loved equally by God—even the most outcast. With your

support, we can restore hope and share God’s redeeming

grace with prisoners and their families around the world.


PO Box 17434

Washington, dC 20041, USA

703-481-0000

www.pfi.org [email protected]

Prison Fellowship International

Documents

Transcript of Prison Fellowship International