Prison Book Project of Titusville, FL, sends books to jail & prison Chaplains for distribution to Chapel libraries and book carts. Each box they ship contains an average of 45 books. Our data indicates that each book will be read by 30 people as it stays in the facility and is shared. Think about this calculation, 30 people x 45 books = 1350 people reading Christian material! “That's for each box we ship!”

• Description:

The purpose of the Prison Book Project is not to entertain or coddle criminals. The thousands of men and women who are processed through the jail and prison systems throughout the United States are "people!"

They come in many different types and from many different backgrounds. Some are scared, some are confused, and some are evil. Some can be changed and others will never change. The some that can be changed are the target of this program

• Why Books?

Because prisoners read! As one chaplain put it, "They will read anything: the bible, a Playboy magazine, or the label from a soup can. They have lots of time. If we supply them with good Christian materials, lives will be changed."

• Books Educate!

Books help equip inmates to minister to other inmates. Books are discussed among inmates, the uneducated become educated just by overhearing these discussions. Faith becomes stronger and has a firmer foundation. The recruitment by flaky religions will be less successful.

• Books Are Continuous!

Books continue to teach long after the teachers have gone. For 8 hours average reading time, we calculate that one box of books can do 5.19 man years of ministry time - without vacations!

Currently, 28 publishers provide us with books. We mix books (45 per box) in individual boxes and send them out to jail/prisons. The average cost of a box shipment is $12.00. So, for $12.00 you can reach 1350 people. How can $12.00 supply 1350 people with a book? We send books to jail/prison Chaplains for chaplain libraries, none are sent directly to inmates. Our data indicates that each book will be read by 30 people if it stays in the facility and is shared. Eight hours of average reading time per book. That equals 10,800 hours of ministry time which equals 5.19 years of ministry with no vacations.

• History

The Prison Book project began in August of 1994, with a goal of delivering 1,000 books to the Brevard County Florida jail within two years.

By August 1997, they had placed 39,886 books into the Brevard facilities. At the time, they stopped counting and began shipping books to every prison and jail in Florida. In August 1999, they began shipping nationwide.

In February 2001, they were serving more than 750 facilities and missionaries in 6 countries.