What We Do
Prison Evangelism is dedicated to winning prisoners to Christ.
The way we do this is through the distribution of How to Be a Child of God—an illustrated book that reveals the good news of Jesus Christ in a simple and easy-to-read format. We print and distribute this book to about 4,800 state, local, and federal institutions through chaplains at a cost of only $0.70 per copy.
There are about 2.2 million prisoners incarcerated at any given time in the U.S. including local and county jails. Statistically, 30% of them are open to hearing the word of God and are willing to accept a gospel tract or book like How to Be a Child of God. Of those who read it, our data indicates that about 10% usually come to faith in Christ and experience a transformed life. So for each investment of $7.00, a prisoner can be reached and transformed by the power of Christ! We know of no other gospel ministry that is this effective at generating powerful results.
When a person’s heart is touched by the love of God, they are born again and brought into the family of God. Self-centeredness and wrong thinking are replaced with worshipping God and loving others. After release from incarceration there is less likelihood of returning to the old life. Despair has been transformed into hope and new life! We continue serving the 12 million who are in and out of county and local jails each year who are awaiting trial or sentencing.
Compare the math—in addition to the immeasurable value of the salvation of souls and restoration to productive lives and families, there is a great cost benefit to prison evangelism.
- For $7.00 a prisoner can be reached with the gospel and receive a new life in Christ.
- Or this prisoner will most likely come back to prison within three years after release. It costs approximately $10,000 to reapprehend and re-book each offender, and it costs taxpayers an average of $25,000 per year for meals and housing.
Prison Evangelism breaks this cycle. Our vision is to see hearts changed and prisons closed.