OKLAHOMA CITY, June 24, 2026 (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, inaugurated its first Prison Fellowship Academy at a federal prison with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 18 at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) El Reno. Prison Fellowship is the first nonprofit to have a program classified as an evidence-based recidivism reduction program under the First Step Act by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
The new Prison Fellowship Academy demonstrates an expansion of the partnership between Prison Fellowship and the BOP, reflecting a shared commitment to rehabilitation and transformation. The program is just one of many Prison Fellowship initiatives expanding its footprint in the very prison system that once incarcerated its late founder, Chuck Colson.
The event included remarks from Heather Rice-Minus, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship; Joshua J. Smith, deputy director of the BOP; David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby; Derek Osborn, chief of staff for Oklahoma Senator James Lankford; and Ray James, Prison Fellowship Academy manager and former prisoner at El Reno.
“This partnership with the BOP not only represents major progress in bringing transformational programming to more people in federal prisons, but it also highlights the belief that no person is beyond redemption,” said Heather Rice-Minus, Prison Fellowship president and CEO. “The Prison Fellowship Academy is designed to help participants prepare for a successful future, both inside and outside prison walls. We are honored to work with the BOP to expand its impact nationwide.”
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact that ministries like Prison Fellowship have on the inmate population,” said Joshua J. Smith, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “It’s exciting to envision the impact that this expanded partnership with Prison Fellowship will have on the incarcerated and their families, as well as on the correctional leaders who will benefit from the transformational leadership skills and vision they will gain through the Prison Fellowship Warden Exchange.”
A recent study released by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice showed that the Prison Fellowship Academy in Texas yielded a 6% rate of recidivism, representing a 53.8% reduction in participant recidivism when evaluated against a group of people with similar backgrounds and criminal histories. Academy graduates leave the program as change agents, prepared to make a difference in their communities inside and outside prison.
The launch of the Prison Fellowship Academy at FCI El Reno adds to Prison Fellowship’s longstanding work with state correctional institutions nationwide, reflecting growing momentum around evidence-based rehabilitation efforts.
The Prison Fellowship Academy is a yearlong, intensive program that invites all those living in prison to encounter Jesus. Through caring staff and volunteers, thought-provoking content, and intentional community, participants envision a new way of living. Regardless of faith, participants are equipped and empowered as change agents as they explore six core values—in the context of the Gospel and of their own stories—and all along the way, they are invited into a relationship with Christ.
Celebrating 50 years of prison ministry, 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 of justice, mercy and hope in our culture.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all federal prisons in the country and provides for the care, custody and control of federal prisoners.
Media can access the digital press kit here.
Susan Merriman Prison Fellowship 703-554-8698 Susan_merriman@pfm.org
