Isolation, restricted freedom, limited support networks are three evidences of the difficulty individuals in jails and prisons battle on a daily basis. Life can seem hopeless, whether one is incarcerated for a month or a lifetime.
Imagine you are one of those living without the everyday freedoms that you currently enjoy. How would you manage to maintain proper mental health and community without family and friends?
For the past three years, Richmond, Virginia-based Good News Global, formerly Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, has been bringing hope to inmates through their "Hope Packs," a special Christmas package given to incarcerated men, women, and youth, as well as to jail and prison staff members. Each "Hope Pack" includes a personalized gift and a bag full of goodies that include a Christmas card, hygiene items, a 2025 calendar, food, and the Armor Book.
The thoughtful gesture may be the only hope the inmates experience behind bars.
This Christmas, beginning in the middle of December, Good News Global will hand deliver 65,000 "Hope Packs" to men and women behind bars in 18 states and 20 countries. The packs are assembled by volunteers, including individuals in local churches and jail administrators that are within the locations of the participating 150 jails and prisons.
“Hope Packs represent our greatest outreach to incarcerated persons ever," said Jon Evans, president of Good News Global. "This Christmas, we will put hope in the hands of 65,000 receptive inmates. We believe that everyone has inherent worth in the eyes of God, and providing Hope Packs is a practical and tangible way to demonstrate that to the inmates and jail and prison staff members.”
While the outreach began in the United States, it has grown to 20 countries. The impact has been profound.
When six-year-old Paul in Zambia, who was in jail because that's where his mother lived, opened his "Hope Pack" to find a gift --a doll-- he burst into tears of joy and gratitude. Paul was born and raised in prison with his mother, and he had never received a gift in his life. This was his first-ever Christmas present. In 2022, Good News Global began providing "Hope Packs" for prisons in Zambia who care for children of inmates.
Good News Global started distributing 500 "Hope Packs" in 2021 after a formerly incarcerated Chaplain remembered receiving a Hope Pack while incarcerated in Illinois. Chaplain Richard Van Arsdale reached out to Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago to find out the contents of Hope Pack. They graciously opened the door to a partnership that has grown each year. In 2022, Good News Global distributed 50,000 Hope Packs, and in 2024, it will distribute 65,000 worldwide.
Over 11 million people are incarcerated globally. Hope Packs provide the opportunity to bring a gift and the gospel to inmates at Christmas, one of the loneliest seasons for those incarcerated. In the U.S., chaplains serve as the religious program coordinator for each facility. In addition, they are responsible for pastoral care, facilitation and accommodation of religious requests, coordination of clergy visits, and a host of other personal ministry activities. Internationally, chaplains extend ministry to ex-inmates and families of inmates ex-inmates and provide emergency aid to facilities such as soap, detergent, toilet paper, lotion, food, and more.
About Good News Global
Good News Global was founded in 1961 with a passion for the incarcerated and forgotten behind bars. Today, Good News provides chaplains in the United States and over 24 foreign countries. Three hundred chaplains and staff minister in 300 facilities with daily access to over 400,000 incarcerated men, women, and youth. Good News is honored to partner with sheriffs and corrections professionals and recognizes the opportunity is a privilege, not a right. We believe that every person has inherent worth in God’s eyes and has a plan for each individual that can only be fully secured through faith in Him.