“Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes Me.” (Matthew 18:5)

Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship, which reaches out to children whose parents are in prison.   This is accomplished through several church events (Christmas and Back-to-School), and by mentoring a child.

The hope is to strengthen the bond between the parent in prison and their children as well as to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of children and families of prisoners.  Without intervention, many of these children will be tomorrow’s criminals.  But by God’s grace, Angel Tree is helping them break free from this intergenerational cycle of crime.  There are several ways to get involved in this year-round ministry.

Annual Church Events

• Angel Tree Christmas works by connecting parents in prison with their children through the delivery of Christmas gifts.  This outreach gives us an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners.  We invite 200 children and their families from our community to an afternoon of arts and crafts, music, a presentation of the gospel, and gift giving on behalf of the incarcerated parent.  Angel Tree reminds these children that they have not been forgotten.  This allows many children to forgive their incarcerated mom or dad—a first step toward repairing damaged relationships.  There is an information meeting in November for those interested in helping with this ministry.


• Angel Tree Back-to-School Bash is a follow-up to our Christmas outreach and gift-giving.  In August, we invite the families for an enjoyable afternoon with fun games to play, face-painting, food, a puppet show, music and a presentation of the gospel.  Backpacks, school supplies and clothing items are bought by church members and distributed to the children. 


• Mentoring At-Risk Kids is an opportunity to share Christ’s love as we meet emotional and spiritual needs of children of incarcerated parents and foster children. Through mentoring, Christ-centered relationships are developed between children ages 6-16 and caring Christian adults.
  Children of inmates are the "innocent victims" of crime. They are the most at-risk group for drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, poor school performance, and criminal behavior. One-on-one mentoring by a caring adult is the single most effective strategy for building character and curbing destructive behavior. Mentoring can change the life of a child, the child’s family, and the life of the mentor!
  Commitment is once a week for at least an hour for one year. Training provided. Click here for a ministry application.

For more information, please contact Kathy Lee at 577-7705.