WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit serving currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform, today announced that it has been awarded a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help millions of people come to know and love God through seeing the transformative power of Jesus in the lives of those behind bars. The grant comes through the Endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life 2025.
The National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life grant will vastly increase Prison Fellowship’s capacity to share stories from prisons across the country that reveal the power of God at work through the Church inside—a Body that many are unaware even exists. Through this project, people who don’t know about the vibrant Church alive behind bars will see it and behold the God who is at work in the most unlikely places. In depictions of interpersonal relationships, these stories will cast a vision for what friendship can be when it is centered around Jesus, whose love truly bridges political, cultural and socioeconomic division. These inspiring stories will be shared extensively on video and through a new podcast, as well as through social media and digital platforms, emails and newsletters.
Prison Fellowship is one of 60 organizations from across the United States that has received grants through the initiative since 2024. The groups include media organizations, denominational judicatories, church networks, publishers, educational institutions, congregations and other nonprofit charitable organizations.
"The generous Lilly Endowment grant will allow Prison Fellowship to amplify the story of the Church behind bars, people set free from darkness, addiction and crime, and living with purpose despite their circumstances," said Heather Rice-Minus, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship. "As the country's largest Christian nonprofit serving men and women in prison, we are uniquely positioned to capture and share these compelling stories of hope that invite viewers to reimagine faith and purpose through the lens of real lives changed by Jesus. We believe that those struggling with doubt will see irrefutable proof that, if the Spirit is able to move among the darkest corners of the country, His power can surely move in your heart."
The aim of Lilly Endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life is to help organizations identify, produce and share with a wide variety of audiences compelling stories that portray the vibrancy and hope of Christian faith and life.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment values the broad diversity of Christian traditions and endeavors to support them in a wide variety of contexts. The Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion by encouraging fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the positive and negative effects of religion on the world and lifting up the contributions that people of all faiths make to our greater civic well-being.
Prison Fellowship is the nation's largest Christian nonprofit equipping the Church to serve currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families, and to advocate for justice and human dignity. Prison Fellowship and its church partners encounter Jesus with those behind bars, breaking cycles of crime and prayerfully anticipating a revival that brings justice, mercy and hope to our culture.
Susan Merriman Prison Fellowship 703-554-8698 Susan_merriman@pfm.org
