Friends,
Over the course of the years, we have been blessed by opportunities and new doors the Lord has opened up for us to step into.
As you know, we have been annually reaching almost 12,000 incarcerated men and women over the years with our in person classes. In fact, it would be safe to say we have reached nearly 250,000 incarcerated people since God first formed Lifeline Global (starting as Awana Lifeline).
If each one of those men and women, in turn, began living into their families, it is easy to conclude that in reaching their children, spouses, siblings, parents, etc., Lifeline Global’s programs of Family Restoration have touched over a million lives. The best part about these numbers is that our ministry is designed to have a wide-ranging effect; meaning once the bonds of generational incarceration (generational sin) are broken, the impacted families trajectory is forever changed.
But our work is not done. The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently reported a 2% increase in prison populations in the U.S. The Prison Policy Initiative states that we will spend $182 billion this year to lock up almost 1% of our overall population.
That is why we are investing in increasing our exposure and making our curriculum more accessible.
Over the course of the years, we have been blessed by opportunities and new doors the Lord
That is why we are making the following investments to increase our exposure and allow our curriculum to be more available for incarcerated men and women to use.
- We are publishing our Malachi Dad and Hannah’s Gift curriculum on Pando. Pando is an app heavily used by tablet and e-reader providers to prison and jail systems. We will make our books available for free on these devices and also include our facilitation videos for each chapter, essentially allowing an individual to enroll in class even when in lockdown. Additionally, they report reaching almost a half million inmates with their app. This venture will be Lifeline Global’s biggest investment to date.
- The Bureau of Prisons reports almost 30% of people incarcerated are Hispanic. Not surprisingly, many of this population know English as a Second Language (ESL). We have heard the call from Chaplains to dub our facilitation videos in Spanish so they can be used with our Spanish curriculum. We have answered the request and begun to do just this. You would think this translation work would be an easy endeavor. But it requires a lot of work and involves many people. This includes translating the scripts of almost 30 hours of video just for Malachi Dads. Scripts need to be edited and authenticated for correct pronunciation and definition. Spanish speakers need to watch the videos and adjust their reading accordingly. Then, the entire process needs to be edited before we begin publishing. We hope to begin video production this summer.
- As some of you may know, we have been invited by the government of Romania to meet with prison officials to discuss how we might expand our programs to this country. The trip was to happen in the spring but has been delayed until early fall. This move is pivotal for us and opportunities to grow around Europe. Romania will surpass Germany as having the largest NATO base which will increase its exposure and influence as a country.
- We have received word that our partners in East Africa will be having another conference in Rwanda to discuss restarts and new opportunities. Additionally, our friends in Sierra Leone are beginning new training for leaders, post-COVID.
- Through an only God moment, Mike was invited to participate in a video podcast about the state of faith in incarceration and our work with incarcerated parents. The podcast captured the attention of state officials in Nebraska and Iowa, and he will be traveling there to pursue opportunities in the two states.
These happenings represent new and unique activities that Lifeline Global is experiencing this summer. To meet these needs, our expenditures will be $50,000 beyond our normal budget. So, we are asking for assistance to help meet the demand. The success of our mission is due to God’s grace and your generosity. Would you prayerfully consider helping us meet this need through:
- 2 gifts of $10,000
- 2 gifts of $5,000
- 5 gifts of $1,000
- 10 gifts of $500
- 10 gifts of $250
- 20 gifts of $100
- 60 gifts of $50
- 100 gifts of $25
Whatever amount you offer makes a meaningful difference – please give to grow today!
God’s blessings to you,
Dr. Romney Ruder
