yasmine arrington
Editor's Note: This article is part of a series featuring the 2020 Sacred Sector Fellows. Each Fellow received a host site placement, where they are conducting an organizational assessment and implementation plan, and then will apply the “Three P’s” -- organizational best practices, public policy, and positive engagement -- at their host site.
This summer, I am working as a Sacred Sector Fellow with Prison Fellowship. Prison Fellowship is a Christian, faith-based organization that was founded in 1976 by Chuck Colson. Colson served time at Maxwell Prison in Alabama for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal. [1] Colson was formerly White House counsel to President Richard Nixon and was known as President Nixon’s “hatchet man.” [1]
While incarcerated, Colson felt led by God to start a ministry that would mobilize the Christian church to minister to prisoners and their families [1]. He followed through with his promise by starting Prison Fellowship. Today, the organization is the largest nonprofit serving prisoners and their families in the nation, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. [2]
Prison Fellowship’s mission is to “serve all those affected by crime and incarceration, and to see lives and communities restored in and out of prison — one transformed life at a time.” [3] Prison Fellowship’s vision is to “see all those affected by crime reconciled to God, their families, and their communities.” [3]
When assessing Prison Fellowship within the Three P’s framework, I have identified some unique qualities and healthy practices within the organization that keep it functioning at a high level and advancing its mission-driven impact.
Public Policy
Prison Fellowship embodies the principle of Political Discipleship. Prison Fellowship is dedicated to its vision of justice that restores, which is currently not a reality for the nation’s jails and prisons. In order to work towards this vision, advocacy through policy reform is necessary. The organization has an advocacy department that is staffed with research, policy, and grassroots professionals who mobilize pastors, churches, and communities to help pass policies and laws that advance a more restorative justice system and better outcomes for prisoners, returning citizens and their families. Further, Prison Fellowship recruits Justice Ambassadors across the country who “advocate for cultural change and legislative reforms that advance proportional punishment, constructive prison culture, and second chances.” [4]
Prison Fellowship’s issue advocacy and policy reform develops in different forms depending on what method the organization’s advocacy team determines is most productive on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the nonprofit will create petitions and ask pastors to help promote them amongst their congregations and communities. Other times, the organization may write letters to specific members of Congress, publicize a stance on a particular issue, or mobilize Justice Ambassadors to contact their lawmakers.
Organizational Practices
Prison Fellowship has a holistic and multi-dimensional approach to moving men, women, and their families from a cycle of crime to a cycle of renewal. The organization has approximately 250 employees who help run and manage the organization’s departments and programs. Prison Fellowship engages staff and thousands of volunteers as teachers, advocates, and Bible study and worship facilitators in prisons across the country. The Prison Fellowship Academy is a program run inside of prisons, where prisoners take classes that prepare them for successful reentry. Prison Fellowship also runs programs to support children of incarcerated parents, such as Angel Tree Christmas, Angel Tree Camping, and Angel Tree Sports Clinic. The organization also has a leadership program called Warden Exchange to cultivate empathetic, responsible prison wardens who will contribute to Prison Fellowship’s broader mission to develop justice that restores and to develop constructive corrections environments.
Internally, Prison Fellowship has weekly staff meetings where team leads report on the progress they have made and challenges they are facing with current projects. The organization has an intranet that is filled with organizational updates and professional and faith development tools for staff. The organization uses Outlook and other tools to promote connectivity and communication within departments and across the organization.
Public Engagement
Prison Fellowship engages regularly with its stakeholders. The organization sends out weekly newsletters informing donors, supporters, and advocates of the organization’s partnerships and advocacy campaigns, and highlighting positive stories of returning citizens and people the organization serves. They invite new supporters to join their advocacy network on their website. The organization also engages pastors, faith leaders, nonprofit leaders, and well-known Christians in their messaging and advocacy work across programs. Prison Fellowship also engages the public in conversation via study groups with their new Bible study curriculum called Outrageous Justice. The study is available in digital and hard copies for free on their website.
This summer, I am serving Prison Fellowship as an Advocacy Intern. I will be directly assisting the advocacy team leader, working with the head of the grassroots program, and the communications director. One of my goals for this summer is to learn how Prison Fellowship effectively uses interdisciplinary approaches to meet the needs of incarcerated people, their families, and returning citizens.
[1] https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/chuck-colson/
[2] https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/
[3] https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/beliefs/
[4] https://www.prisonfellowship.org/action/volunteer-old/become-an-advocate-in-your-state/
Yasmine Arrington is a 2020 Sacred Sector Fellow and the Founder and Executive Director of ScholarCHIPS, Inc., a nonprofit that provides college scholarships and mentorship to children of incarcerated parents, inspiring them to complete their college degree.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Know a seminarian or a faith-based organization? Connect them with Sacred Sector’s Fellowship and Community, designed to equip individuals and organizations to live out their faith-shaped callings. Email virginia.creasy@cpjustice.org for more information.
Sign up for the Sacred Spotlight monthly newsletter to stay updated on this series and learn more about Sacred Sector’s learning communities.
How is your faith-based organization living its mission? Share your story with us.