- The Washington Times - Wednesday, July 5, 2023

An online service is helping prison chaplains place Bibles and Christian study materials in the hands of incarcerated men and women, a program its sponsor says can help prisoners return to society as a “contributing member of society.”

Called The Storehouse, the online portal is operated by Prison Fellowship of Lansdowne, Virginia, which says it is “the nation’s largest” Christian outreach to prisoners, former inmates and their families. The group said it started the program in 2019 to better meet the needs of the estimated 2 million individuals housed in prison facilities across the country.

The literature is provided free of charge to prison chaplains — often volunteer clergy with little or no budget for Bibles and other materials — so long as they have an email address with the relevant department of corrections, said James Ackerman, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship. The organization was founded by the late Chuck Colson, a former Nixon aide who served time in prison for crimes related to the Watergate scandal 50 years ago.

“Last year alone, we distributed 261,000 Bibles and ministry books like devotionals both into prisons and into the hands of children,” Mr. Ackerman said in an interview.

The children receive the items via the group’s Angel Tree Christmas program that provides a gift and a message from their incarcerated parents, as well as a copy of Zondervan’s “Adventure Bible,” designed for younger readers.

Inmates can request a “Life Recovery Bible,” from evangelical publisher Tyndale, which “has basically the 12 steps built into it,” he said, referring to the program used by Alcoholics Anonymous and other abuse recovery groups.

“There’s a lot of people who are sitting there going, ’What have I done with my life? How have I let myself get here? What is going on with me?’ and are really seeking to set their lives right. It’s a perfect opportunity to step into a relationship or recommitment with Jesus,” Mr. Ackerman said.

During the pandemic, when outside visitation was limited if not proscribed, prisoners used the Bibles to study together in groups, Mr. Ackerman said.

Funding comes from donors reached via digital campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, he said, “plus we have generous donors who want to see Bibles get into a person’s hands. We receive the odd $50,000 donation here and there from people who just say, ’Please, put this towards Bibles.’”

Along with the Bible distribution program, Mr. Ackerman said the organization provides a 90-day devotional study book, prepared by the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, that targets the unique needs of the incarcerated.

“Our goal is, when people go into prison, we think it’s extremely important to help them go on a journey to become a healthier and more productive citizen” by finding faith and training through the group’s Prison Fellowship Academy program, which operates in 220 locations across 41 states.

Mr. Ackerman said that since “over 90% of people who go to prison are coming home,” helping inmates on a positive path is vital. He estimated the number of returning convicts at 600,000, a cohort that will be replaced by “another 500,000 or 600,000 going into the system” during the coming year.

“If you go to prison and become a more hardened criminal, and then come out, that’s not that’s not a good scenario for our communities,” he said. “If you go to prison, become a follower of Jesus, step into the habits of good citizenship through the academy and come out of prison and become a contributing member of your community, that’s good for society.”

• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.

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