As Pastor John wrote on Friday, there are real people in our prisons who need to hear the gospel and to be encouraged in their faith. Desiring God seeks to serve them and the chaplains in those prisons through our volunteer-led inmate ministry:
Individual Inmates
Every inmate who writes to us for the first time receives a welcome packet that includes a letter describing our ministry, a copy of our evangelistic booklet, For Your Joy, a copy of The Dangerous Duty of Delight, and an application for free correspondence courses through Mount Zion Bible Institute. We also send them one other Piper book under our whatever-you-can-afford policy. (If an inmate does not request a specific book, we select one for him or her.)
After our initial correspondence, inmates may request a book once a month.
Currently we receive letters from approximately 200 new inmates every month. We have a group of volunteers who come in every week to read these letters, pray for the inmates and write a personal note of encouragement on the welcome letter. The volunteers also read mail and process book requests from inmates who have contacted us previously.
Prison Chaplains and Volunteers
When chaplains request resources from Desiring God, we work with them to determine what will best meet their needs. We frequently send out sets of 12-15 Piper resources for their prison libraries, as well as multiple copies of books for use in Bible studies or chapel services.
If a volunteer at a prison has permission to take Piper resources in for a Bible study, we'll happily supply books, DVDs and study guides.
We have also produced a brochure for distribution to inmates which includes a tear-off, business reply-paid postcard on which an inmate can select one of five Piper books to receive. We send these out in bundles of 100 to anyone who is able to distribute them in prison.
Will you help us spread a passion for God to people in prisons? Please contact me for more information!