Clear and Simple Media books and stories were originally developed with a New English Reader audience in mind. The books became popular among churches with ESL ministries that targeted newcomers to Canada and the United States. At the same time, the books and stories went into translation and began to be useful tools in the hands of church-planters and disciplers in an increasing number of languages. Today, CSM books are in 50+ languages. These applications are, in some ways, what we hoped for and expected. What we didn’t consider were the broader applications that simple English materials could have.

One of those applications was how the books would be used in prison ministry. It is likely not a surprise that many of the people who end up in prisons have experienced interruptions in their education somewhere along the way. While it is not always the case, many of the people in prisons struggle with literacy. More than a dozen years ago, chaplains and churches with “jail ministry” began taking CSM resources along with them. They gave them to prisoners, read chapters aloud during their discipleship times, and added the books to the libraries. What made that interesting news was, one of the earliest resources, Simple Truths for the New Believer, was developed, in part, as a project for completion of the Centurions program that I was enrolled in. The Centurions program was created by Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship.

For some months now, we have been in correspondence with Prison Fellowship. On July 9 we received this message from Danielle Wilson, Chaplain Resources, Project Manager.

“Hi Tom,

I’m excited to share that we have just published two titles on our Chaplain Storehouse for digital download. Thank you so much for this wonderful content. We may consider the others in the near future. We want to pilot the use of digital content before we add more. I will be sure to share the distribution as we monitor it.”

We’re thankful for this development and are grateful to the people who support CSM. Without your help this project would not be possible. We will keep you updated on the progress of Chaplain Resources as we hear more from Danielle. In the meantime, pray that God will use these resources in the hearts of the men and women who need them most.