Prisons

Changing Prisoners & Families
Crime takes a toll on victims, communities, and taxpayers. Prisons alone turn few lives around. But when a prisoner’s life transforms, it changes the story for everyone. If you're here for help or to help others, we have tools and programs to support you. You can have hope through Jesus Christ

"I was in prison, and you came to visit me," Jesus told His followers. Then He clarified: "Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Prison Fellowship,  reaches out to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families both as an act of service to Jesus Christ and as a contribution to restoring peace to our cities and communities endangered by crime. The best way to transform our communities is to transform the people within those communities.

Getting to the Heart of the Problem

We believe that at its core, crime is a moral and spiritual problem. Out of distorted character values, people make poor moral choices that cause harm and destruction. Therefore, authentic and lasting change must take place from the inside out—beginning with a reconciled relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Then, as people learn more about the truth and power of Christ, they learn to think in a new way, act in a new way, and relate to others in a new way.

Working in Partnership

Though its influence now reaches around the world, Prison Fellowship has a relatively small staff. Fewer than 275 serve at our national office in Mbarara and in home offices throughout Uganda. The real strength of our "workforce" is in the thousands of churches and the tens of thousands of trained volunteers who partner with us to bring about lasting change in the lives of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families.

And these churches and volunteers have joined with other groups-faith-based ministries, civic organizations, businesses, social agencies-to form Communities of Care that focus on three areas.

• Prisons: Connecting prisoners with a new way of thinking and living. Preparing them for a successful life back on the outside.

• Communities: Connecting released prisoners with the support and resources they need to beat the odds against them and become productive citizens.

• Families: Connecting prisoners with their families. Rebuilding broken bonds. Protecting prisoners' children from falling prey to the generational cycle of crime.

·         That's because the Bible promises, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And we believe that "anyone" includes prisoners.

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·         We've seen the "worst of the worst" make a complete turnaround through the power of Jesus Christ. Some may scoff, but "with God all things are possible," Jesus declared.

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·         We're committed to the journey.

·         Radical, lasting change seldom takes place overnight. More often, it's an accumulation of steps—usually forward, but sometimes back, as we run into difficult terrain and roadblocks along the way.

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·         Prison Fellowship walks with prisoners through the different stages of their journey. We start with them inside prison, as they learn new values based on the life and teaching of Christ and how to apply them. We continue with them through the critical transition to the outside, helping them through obstacles and daunting temptations. So even if they stumble, it doesn't mean defeat.

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·         We also help prisoners and their families rejoin their journeys, staying connected during incarceration, adjusting well when prisoners return home.

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·         We don't do it alone.

·         From its beginning, Prison Fellowship has partnered with local churches to carry out this ministry of transformation. And in recent years God  has brought together tens of thousands of men, women, and even youth to work with prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. Across the country they are uniting in local Communities of Care, providing support and services both inside and outside the prisons.

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·         These churches also collaborate with scores of other faith-based ministries, community organizations, and corrections officials to ensure that, together, we can reach prisoners and their families with the best possible teaching, resources, and support.