We have a Prison Fellowship chartered members in more than 100 countries around the world. To see if a specific country is running our programs, check out our website at pfintldev.wpengine.com/global-impact/where-we-work
Any program that works with offenders and victims of crime can have restorative justice practices woven into it. We invite you to read our Restorative Justice Handbook to see how PFI weaves Restorative Justice into all we do.
Public Reading of Scripture provides access to a dramatized audio Bible reading. This audio Bible is played in a group setting and shares the Gospel where literacy rates are low. Each prisoner will also receive a new Bible of their own so they can follow along. This unique program is currently running in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uruguay and Zambia.
The Angel Tree®® program and resources provide a powerful opportunity for National Ministries around the world to connect with children of prisoners and their caregivers. Participants show the love of Christ while helping to restore broken relationships between children and their incarcerated parents.
The Annual Week of Prayer is a global program offered by Prison Fellowship International and shared with ministries all over the world, who observe it throughout various weeks of the year. The week is designed as a special occasion for Prison Fellowship ministries to communicate and connect with churches and the community in order to focus on ministry among prisoners, ex-prisoners, the families of prisoners, and victims of crime.
Sycamore Tree Project®: Justice and Peace, increases prisoners’ awareness of how crime harms victims, what is needed to make amends, and how to be peacemakers in the future. The program has a powerful impact on both prisoner and victim participants, and studies have shown that offenders who go through STP have significant changes in attitude that make it less likely they will re-offend once released. Using an eight-week curriculum, developed by Prison Fellowship International and based on the Book of Luke, a facilitator leads participants to consider concepts of responsibility, confession, repentance, forgiveness, amends, and reconciliation in the context of crime and justice. Offenders confront the harm—often for the first time—their actions have caused to others. Many victims report receiving a measure of healing.
PromisePath is our newest children’s program that has three core areas of focus for intervention based on the highest-impact services as learned through our signature children’s program, The Child’s Journey. The three areas are:
The Child’s Journey is our comprehensive child sponsorship program designed to provide the essential care that the children of prisoners often lack while their parent is incarcerated. Through the child’s journey, enrolled children are paired with a caseworker that ensures that they live in safe housing with a loving caregiver, they have access to medical care and nutritious food, they are attending school with their needed fees and supplies, they receive spiritual guidance and resources, and they are engaged within their community.
The Prisoner’s Journey (TPJ) course is designed to transform the lives of prisoners from the inside out, by introducing them to a restorative relationship with Jesus, who was also a prisoner. The first phase of a longitudinal, third-party, empirical study of TPJ, conducted by Dr. Byron Johnson and a team of researchers from the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, is almost complete. The study focuses on the impact of TPJ in multiple prisons in two countries. Early assessments from the first phase of the study indicate that this program transforms prisoners’ lives: by increasing prisoners’ religious engagement, TPJ increases their motivation for identity transformation, helps them grow in virtue and reduces their aggression – all social indicators that they are on a path to successful rehabilitation.