United States (MNN) — Christian moms pray for their children. But some mothers in the United States don’t see their children very often right now, if at all. They don’t have the same church community, books, social media, or other resources to encourage their faith as other moms do.
That’s because some mothers are serving prison sentences. According to a September 2025 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, 980,300 women were under correctional supervision in the United States at the end of 2023. That includes women under probation or parole as well as those in prison.
“There are many incarcerated moms. It’s a whole tragic thing to think about— even kids of various ages,” says Dee Peterson, the Director of Discipleship at Prisoners For Christ (PFC).
Here’s what is being done to reach these women. The literature distribution department at PFC sends biblical resources to hundreds of prison chaplains. These include books, tracts, digital resources, and, more recently, films.
Photo courtesy of Yohan Joy via Unsplash.
“If you look at the saturation of non-Christian movies in the American culture, we reasonably assume as a ministry that it’s similar in the prison system,” says Peterson.
With the support of a Southern California church, PFC secured permission this year to distribute “The Forge” to prison inmates. This 2024 faith-based film was produced by Affirm Films, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures. The story follows a teenage boy struggling in life, and what happens as his mom prays and a Christian man begins to mentor him.
“One of the focal points is the power of prayer, as well as the redemption and forgiveness,” says Peterson. “[Incarcerated mothers’] hearts are hurting, and they are burdened for their kids. So to have [“The Forge” depict] a praying mom and praying friends that can lift her up as she’s praying for her son [is] really, really important.”
One incarcerated woman from West Virginia shared this response to the film through the local prison chaplain:
“I wish I was one tenth of the woman as [the single mom in “The Forge”]. I wish I had seen this movie 20 years ago. “The Forge” illustrates with extraordinary clarity the value and power of Christian mentorship. It also shines light on what I see as overlooked forms of poverty in our society, like the roles of fatherhood and community — social responsibility, if you like. They’re minimized and fading. A generation or two now has been raised electronically. Modern times dictate that everyone has the tech, the things, cell phones, video systems, wireless, everything. It is a culture of individual and isolation. Conversation is obsolete. Human interaction is brief and transaction-based. We are called by our heavenly Father to be part of His family — brothers and sisters — and yes, to be each other’s keepers, united, bonded in Christ’s love and God’s grace. To be aware, to care, support each other. To teach and correct, lead by example, to see past ourselves and to love each other. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
(Stock photo courtesy of Tim Wildsmith via Unsplash)
Find your place in the story
Whether through films, books, or other media, Prisoners for Christ is on a mission to reach inmates with the hope of Jesus. They ship brand-new biblical resources to prison chaplains free of charge.
“Prison ministry fulfills so many God-honoring things. The Great Commission. We see lives changed,” says Peterson. “They [inmates] need knowledge. They need the Word of God. That is what someone contributes to when they contribute to our ministry.”
Learn more about supporting PFC’s Bible and literature distribution here!
Header image is a stock photo courtesy of RDNE Stock project via Pexels.
