Prisoners For Christ (PFC) recognized the ministry opportunity early. They eventually connected with Pando, a closed-access app owned and operated by God Behind Bars out of Nevada. In January 2025, PFC began uploading Christian books, sermons, Bible teachings, and Gospel videos.

(Photo courtesy of Prisoners For Christ)

Mike North, Vice President of Communications at PFC, says, “We’ve been on there almost a year, and the response has been incredible. It’s been greater than we ever imagined!”

Tablets in prison aren’t like civilian devices. Inmates cannot freely access the Internet or search random websites. Instead, usage is heavily restricted to pre-approved apps such as Pando and other monitored content platforms. That control ensures safety while allowing ministries like PFC to provide meaningful, Gospel-centered material.

And prisoners are responding. One inmate named Carl wrote: “I’m so ready to give my life to Christ and follow Him to the ends of the earth… I will follow you forever. Amen.”

To date, PFC’s 46 uploaded videos have been viewed more than 564,000 times. The channel has also recorded 702 professions of faith in Jesus Christ after inmates watch a video that clearly explains the Gospel.

“It’s really humbling and it’s an unexpected blessing to think that we are actually in the cell with these prisoners,” North says. “We are actually meeting them — literally where they are — to present the light of the Gospel.”

(Photo courtesy of Prisoners For Christ)

When asked about PFC’s future vision with the Pando app, North responds, “That we would continue to upload content that’s relevant — and not just relevant, but interesting…. We want to evangelize and disciple these brothers and sisters in Christ.”

The momentum is building nationwide. Greg von Tobel, President and Founder of PFC, predicts, “By five years, I think every inmate in America will have a tablet. So that gives the Christian ministries out there an incredible opportunity to provide their resources to inmates without having boots on the ground.”

Pando is already active on 610,000 tablets, and plans underway could add another 700,000, bringing the total to 1.1 million devices.

That’s a Gospel opportunity unlike anything prison ministries have seen before. But growth takes funding.

Von Tobel says, “If your listeners were so moved to partner with us…there’s a lot more material that we could certainly avail ourselves of putting out there for inmate consumption. So that would be a prayer request.”

You can help bring the Gospel into prison cells across the United States. Click here to give through the PFC website.

Pray for favor and open hearts as the Gospel goes into more prisons through Pando. Pray also for strength and spiritual growth for new believers inside prison walls.

Header photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash.

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.

But in prisons, the dynamic changes. An incarcerated extremist becomes, quite literally, a captive audience for the Gospel.

Greg Von Tobel, President of Prisoners for Christ (PFC), says, “When we talk about third-world prisons, there are a lot of terrorist groups that have found themselves in prison.

“What better opportunity to share the love of Christ with some of the hardest of hearts that are bent on evil and having them come to know Lord, getting released, going back to their communities and sharing the love of Christ?”

Photo courtesy of Colin Carey via Unsplash

PFC helps believers behind bars start churches in prisons across the developing world. For terrorists, these church gatherings are often the first place they hear about Jesus.

Don Szolomayer, PFC’s Director of International Affairs, explains that many inmates enter prison churches simply out of curiosity. “And it says, ‘This is a safe place. This is a place you can come, you can ask questions, you can learn, you can grow.’”

Still, sharing the Gospel is only the beginning. Von Tobel stresses the importance of building up new believers in the faith during their incarceration.

“We have to have the discipleship piece – feeding and growing inmates that are babes in the Word of God, and watching them and growing them into great warriors for the cause of Christ.”

Pray for extremists in prison to turn to Christ, and become warriors for God’s mercy and truth!

Pray also for believers who lead these prison churches — that God would equip them with wisdom, courage, and perseverance as they disciple new Christians behind bars.

Header photo image generated by AI.