Christian Service
Christian Prison Ministries
Christian prison ministries carry hope behind bars: visiting prisoners, leading Bible studies, supporting the families left outside, and helping returning citizens rebuild after release. Jesus counted visiting the prisoner among the marks of true faith. If your family is affected by incarceration, help exists. If you want to serve, there are many ways in.
What prison ministry is
Behind every prison number is a person, and often a family struggling on the outside. Christian prison ministries visit and mentor the incarcerated, provide Bible studies and worship, care for prisoners’ children, and walk with people through reentry so they are not alone when they come home.
Well-known Christian prison ministries include:
- Prison Fellowship. The largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families in the United States, founded in 1976 by Charles Colson. Its Angel Tree program provides Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated parents.
- Kairos Prison Ministry. An international, volunteer-led ministry that brings structured spiritual retreats into prisons for incarcerated men and women and their families.
- The Salvation Army. Provides chaplaincy, prisoner support, and reentry assistance in many communities alongside its wider social work.
These organizations are named for information only. Details are accurate to the best of our knowledge, but they may change; please confirm on each group’s own website. Being listed here is not an endorsement, and none of these organizations are affiliated with The Living Bread.
If your family is affected
If someone you love is incarcerated and you are struggling, you are not alone. Dial 211 or search findhelp.org for family support, financial assistance, and legal aid, and ask a local church or prison ministry about programs for prisoners’ families and children.
How to get involved
Ministries need visitors, mentors, letter-writers, and volunteers to support families. Many welcome help without any prior experience.
Find a way to serve in the Living Bread app, where local needs and volunteer openings are posted by real people and verified ministries. You can also find a church near you and ask how to join its outreach, or explore the directory of churches to see who is already serving in your area.
Frequently asked questions
- What do Christian prison ministries do?
- They visit and mentor prisoners, lead Bible studies and worship, support prisoners' families and children, and help returning citizens rebuild after release, following Jesus' words about visiting the imprisoned (Matthew 25:36).
- What is the largest Christian prison ministry?
- Prison Fellowship, founded in 1976 by Charles Colson, is the largest Christian nonprofit in the United States serving prisoners and their families. Its Angel Tree program gives Christmas gifts to children of incarcerated parents.
- How can I help if a family member is in prison?
- Dial 211 or search findhelp.org for family support, financial help, and legal aid, and ask a local church or prison ministry about programs for prisoners' families. You are not alone in it.
Why Christians serve
Underneath every soup kitchen, shelter, and relief truck is a Person. Jesus said that whatever we do for the hungry, the sick, the stranger, and the prisoner, we do for him. Service is not how Christians earn God’s love; it is how they answer it. If you want to know the One who first loved us, you are welcome to come and see, in your own time and with no pressure.
Come and seeWhy Jesus?Freely ye have received, freely give.