Good News Global Gives 'Hope Packs' and the Gospel to 65,000 Inmates Worldwide

As millions of Americans look forward to celebrating the joy of the Christmas season with family and friends, inmates across the country face the painful reality that they will spend it alone. Yet, one Virginia prison ministry is looking to spread a little cheer to the thousands locked up behind bars to let them know that Jesus loves them and they are not forgotten. 

Good News Global, formerly Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, is hand-delivering 65,000 Hope Packs globally to men and women behind bars in 18 states and 20 countries this Christmas.

The Hope Packs include a Christmas gift, card, 2025 calendar, food, hygiene items, and the Gospel message.

For some, it is their first time receiving a gift like this. For others, it is the first time they will hear about Jesus. 

For the past three years, Good News Global has given inmates a "Christmas Hope" package in the days before Christmas. 

"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."

The packs are assembled by volunteers, including individuals in local churches and jail administrators who are within the locations of the participating 150 jails and prisons. 

Volunteers with the organization preach the gospel to over 400,000 incarcerated men, women, and young people, helping people of all faith backgrounds cope with life in jail. 

"Your life is essentially over (in jail)," Chaplain Joe Kelty previously told CBN News. "If ever there was a time that you would turn to God, it's probably when you're going through something like that."

"One of the most moving parts of the job is when an inmate finds out that a loved one has died on the outside," Kelty added. "And here they are in jail, and they can't be with their family. That's some of the more difficult conversations but also the most meaningful." 

In the U.S., chaplains serve as the religious program coordinator for each prison 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, providing emergency aid such as soap, detergent, toilet paper, lotion, food, and more.

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.

"I want to say thank you so much for your Christmas bag and prayers," one inmate wrote to the ministry. 

"I have been a strong believer in God my entire life, but just last night, I was actually cussing the Lord. I almost had given up. I told him to show me a sign today or I feel like I couldn't believe anymore," the inmate explained. 

"Then I read the card that a Good News Global volunteer gave me from the Hope Pack and it touched my heart so much I started to cry," the inmate shared. "To hear and think that someone was thinking of me and praying for me helped me so much."

More than 11 million people are incarcerated globally and Hope Packs is providing the opportunity to bring a gift and the gospel to inmates at Christmas–one of the loneliest seasons for those incarcerated.

"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," the ministry shared.

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