We take our vision to break the cycle of crime and restore lives, worldwide, through Jesus’s love very seriously. This is not just something that sounds nice and can be put on marketing material—it is our foundation for planning and helps shape our long-term strategy to actually achieve our vision.

In 2021, we will complete the tasks associated with a three-year capacity-building phase and lay the groundwork for global market expansion through both organic and inorganic growth. By that, we mean growth through stronger affiliates, dozens of new programme partnerships, and strategic alliances with other prison ministries.

Five years ago, we asked to what point do we need to get to in order to see the transformation in the lives of prisoners, within the prison system, and by extension the community through families and victims and others. Our hypothesis is that we must hit a tipping point within the prison system.

To achieve this tipping point, we need to extend our market reach to approximately 70 percent of the world’s prisoners and engage 20 percent of the global prison population (about 2 million prisoners) annually. This is when we will see the viral spread of the transformational power of the Gospel. But to reach these goals, we need to triple our ministry impact.

The good news is that several affiliates are already seeing this happen. These are National Ministries that are “saturating their markets” with a comprehensive portfolio of effective ministry programmes. Many of these affiliates are running “end to end” type programmes that engage both prisoners and families throughout the full cycle of their incarceration and reintegration.

The evidence is beginning to mount: When 20 percent of prisoners within a closed system are engaged, prison violence drops, and prison culture begins to change. As one prison official reported after The Prisoner’s Journey was launched in his prison: “Before The Prisoner’s Journey, the sounds in the prison each night were sounds of violence. But now, in the evenings, the sound in the prison is quiet and we hear pages of the Bible flipping...”

As we move forward in implementing our four-year strategic plan, we will

Develop a strong network of national ministries (150 affiliates) and strategic partners (15+) who share our vision and are willing to develop the capacity to implement a continuum of effective ministry programmes throughout their country.

Double the number of programme partnerships with national ministries to 100+, investing in their overall national impact.

Establish regional hubs and centers of excellence to intensify knowledge sharing, mentoring, and training within each region

Provide national ministries with a menu of evidence-based ministry programmes designed for prisoners and their families. These programmes will include:

Catalytic programmes designed to open the market and pave the way for follow-on programmes

Programmes developed by national ministries that represent best practices

Programmes developed by strategic ministry partners that are retooled and rebranded to work within national ministries

Weave the golden thread of restorative justice through all of our ministry programmes, increasing the restorative effects of all that we do.

Over the last few years, we have been able to trigger a global spread of restorative programmes by concentrating on key forerunner markets. The result has been a growing body of evidence that our collective efforts are transforming identities, reducing recidivism, healing families, and breaking the cycle of crime. These successes are starting to reshape justice systems and cultures around the globe.

Our hypothesis is that we are living in a time where the context is right. We have national ministry leaders and staff who can develop effective programmes and best practices and achieve our vision.

Everything we do, everything we spend money on, must drive the achievement of our mission. If we’re doing anything that does not strengthen our ability to transform lives, then it’s a waste of time and effort. Our larger vision of breaking the cycle of crime is what will continue to drive our strategy in 2021.