Prison Fellowship Celebrates 50 Years Transforming Lives
Chuck Colson, once known as President Richard Nixon’s “hatchet man,” founded Prison Fellowship to help others find the same freedom he discovered in Christ. This month marks the 50 years of what would become the world’s largest prison ministry.
For a half century, men and women behind bars and their families have heard the good news of Jesus through Bible studies, seminars and mentoring, according to the ministry’s Breakpoint commentary. Leaders have been trained, children have been remembered, justice has increased, churches have been founded and lives have been made new in Christ.
Aiming to break the cycle of crime and incarceration, Prison Fellowship has mobilized thousands of churches and volunteers through the ministry of Angel Tree, which delivers Christmas gifts to the children of prisoners in the name of their incarcerated parents. Colson.
READ: Prison Fellowship distributes 100k bibles to prisoners
also led Prison Fellowship to advocate for biblically based justice reform, to train wardens and prison staff, and to help those who leave prison make a crime-free return to their communities.
His work continues to bear fruit. Joshua J. Smith, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, recently praised both the longstanding and new work of Prison Fellowship:
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact that ministries like Prison Fellowship have on the inmate population,” he said. “It’s exciting to envision the impact that this expanded partnership with Prison Fellowship will have on the incarcerated and their families.”
This ministry has been transformative for thousands through justice reform initiatives, in-prison outreaches and programs, family ministries, warden training and church partnerships. In his 36 years of public ministry, Colson advised presidents, received honorary degrees and won the nation’s highest civilian award. But he often said that the greatest joy in his life was the “living monuments” of God’s grace: prisoners transformed by the love of Christ.
“The truth that is uppermost in my mind today is that God isn’t finished,” he once said. “As long as we’re alive, he’s at work in our lives. We can live lives of obedience in any field, because God providentially arranges the circumstances of our lives to achieve nis objectives.”
–Lee Hartman
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