Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are incarcerated at any given time, representing one of the most unchurched populations in our country. We are on a mission to change that.
We will stop at nothing to ensure every inmate in the U.S. has direct and personal access to the Gospel. We want to help them grow their faith, heal trauma and emotional wounds, break addictions and cycles, and allow every person behind bars to step into their calling as sons and daughters of the Most High.
It’s a simple fact that less than 20% of inmates are serving life sentences, and up to as many as 95% of all incarcerated individuals will be released back to society at some point. About 37% of those released will return to prison within three years, and over 80% will be rearrested within ten years. God Behind Bars addresses this drastic recidivism problem with a unique approach that focuses on the spiritual, physical, and relational needs of inmates and their families.
We partner with local churches to plant a church campus behind bars, complete with audio and video equipment. Every week a team of church volunteers show up to shake hands, create relationships, and pray for inmates while a dynamic worship experience is streamed directly into the prison. We’ve been told by countless prison staff that by offering these programs, most inmates not only greatly look forward to attending each week but that God Behind Bars is changing the culture of their prisons.
PandoApp, created by GodBehind Bars in 2021, is the first-ever faith-based app allowed on Department of Corrections inmate tablets. Churches and other faith based-organizations generously provide PandoApp with high-quality sermons, worship music, devotionals, and other videos that reach inmates exactly where they are 24/7, and all for free to the user. This app has revolutionized how we can do prison ministry as we can now be in more prisons, serving more inmates than ever before.
When partner churches link arms with God Behind Bars, we get to bring real hope and healing to families, spouses, and children impacted by incarceration. Through reunification events, holiday gatherings, baptisms, revival services, and creative experiences like father daughter dances, we create moments that restore connection, dignity, and joy.
These events put the love of Jesus on display in tangible ways. They help begin the process of healing past hurts and strengthening relationships so families can move forward in a new direction.
They also give families the chance to spend meaningful time together in a setting that feels warm and personal. Instead of a visitation room, they get to play games, share a meal, exchange gifts, and simply be together.
If your ministry is interested in hosting an event alongside God Behind Bars, click the link below to learn more.
God Behind Bars Music exists to capture and carry the sound of what God is doing behind prison walls. Week after week, we witness worship that is raw, honest, and full of surrender, and we believe those moments are meant to be heard far beyond the chapel. Our heart is to create music that is shaped by real stories, written for the incarcerated, and rooted in the kind of faith that is forged in the hardest places.
We want to give men and women behind bars a voice, while also inviting the outside world into what God is doing in these spaces. This is more than music to us. It is a way to bring hope into facilities, to strengthen what God is already building inside, and to remind every person who hears it that true freedom is still possible.
We partner with churches, ministries, and individuals like you nationwide to provide life-changing content to prison inmates and their families. See the impact your giving and involvement make by checking out the locations of prison campuses and the presence of the Pando app on inmate tablets.
See the Map
Thank you for your interest in getting involved with God Behind Bars! We just need a few pieces of information to get the application process started.
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)