In January 2025, a man in the Philippines receiving his first graduation certificate during the Pampanga Provincial Jail’s graduation ceremony needed help to get up onto the stage. Lucas Suriano was leading the graduation ceremony, but he took a moment to stop what he was doing and approached the man. Lucas helped him up and noticed the man was teary-eyed.
“I asked him how old he was, and he told me he was 72 years old,” said Lucas, who is the Global Operations Manager for the ministry Prison Alliance. “I was blown away because this man had probably been in this prison for years and he still has the strength and willingness to achieve something—to become his better self. It was incredible.”
Prison Alliance started in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1996. Today it shares the gospel with incarcerated men and women in the United States and more than 17 other countries around the globe. Its mission is to “make disciples of every prisoner in every prison of every country around the world.”
“Day after day I am amazed by what God is doing inside of prisons,” Lucas said. “It’s one of those areas that people don’t usually pay attention to. But I can tell you that God’s love and God’s power is very present inside of prisons.”
Kathleen Skaar started Prison Alliance to make sure men and women in local prisons received Bibles and Christian books. She and her husband then expanded their reach to prisons across the United States. While delivering the Christian books did help those incarcerated, Kathleen realized what the people actually needed was discipleship. So she developed a three-course Bible study program that shares the gospel with prisoners.
Lucas Suriano joined the Prison Alliance team a little over two years ago and has helped Prison Alliance’s ministry grow internationally. While Lucas lives in Argentina he is over all of the global growth of the ministry.
“Getting involved with Prison Alliance was definitely God’s plan for me, because I come from a corporate background,” said Lucas. “My life has completely changed.”
Lucas wasn’t looking to join the nonprofit world, but he was unexpectedly fired from his corporate job. It shook up his life in a good way. During that time he met Tim Curington, Prison Alliance’s Executive Director, while Tim was on a trip to Argentina. Soon after that meeting Lucas started volunteering with Prison Alliance doing some translation work for the ministry in Spanish and Portuguese. That work grew beyond only doing translations into creating more of the vision to expand Prison Alliance’s global reach. Now Lucas works full-time with the ministry and oversees all the international growth for the organization. He is continually looking for more countries where Prison Alliance can work.
“Physically I am here working in Argentina, but mentally I am with the prisoners,” Lucas said. “I am trying to understand what they need and think about how we can make this program work to the best of our abilities.”
Lucas says that the organization’s heart lies in the words of Hebrews 13:3:
“Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” (NRSV)
Prison Alliance has had a presence in countries like the Philippines for more than five years and Argentina for over three years. They have built solid relationships in these countries and the Philippines is their success model for how to create new partnerships. It is easier for Prison Alliance to do work in these countries. However, in new countries which are just being onboarded, building relationships requires a lot of effort.
Prison Alliance is about to access a second prison in Pakistan. To start their Bible study program in this second prison, they have needed to jump through many hoops, like requesting permission to bring pens and paper inside the prison.
“It is really a very bureaucratic process, but we have to follow it,” Lucas explained.
However, even working in a Muslim country like Pakistan has proved easier than ministering inside the prisons of El Salvador. Very few churches there have access to prisons; not even certified chaplains can get into the prisons to minister to those who are incarcerated, and the only authorization that is given is for special occasions like Christmas or Easter.
In July 2024, Christianity Today published an article about how difficult it is for ministries and pastors to reach prisoners in El Salvador. The situation in the Central American country is dire; 1 in 56 people in the country are incarcerated, and the government has made it more difficult in recent years for pastors and churches to enter prisons and do ministry.
Prison Alliance and its work in El Salvador were mentioned in the article, and multiple people reached out to Lucas to encourage him and inquire how they could partner with Prison Alliance. Mainly from El Salvador, they have been able to connect with their country pastor, Mario Carias Hernandez from San Salvador City, to put together a larger coalition that will help Prison Alliance grow and expand in the area.
“By God’s grace, the Christianity Today article gave Mario the ability to start a Prison Alliance discipleship program in the Apateos Prison,” Lucas said. “We have collaborated with the purchase of 300 hygiene kits for our first 300 female students already. Mario will be visiting this first prison on a weekly basis, with the support of the local authorities.”
The CT article also raised a lot of awareness among readers about how difficult prison ministry can be in other countries, even in a Christian country like El Salvador. It brought a sense of appreciation to pastors and people in ministry about the resources and abilities they currently have and how they might be able to partner with other organizations like Prison Alliance.
“Christianity Today and Prison Alliance have one thing in common: the desire to reach people all around the world for Christ,” Lucas said. “Maybe we focus on different people, but it is the same goal.”
As Prison Alliance continues to grow, Lucas mentioned the importance of Christianity Today expanding its article translations.
“It really does help local pastors who do not have any experience with English to have these articles in Spanish, Portuguese, etc.,” Lucas said. “We have partners in Brazil who don’t speak English or Spanish, so to have the article Prison Alliance was mentioned in also written in Portuguese means they can read it.”
Lucas believes that the global church is disconnected from itself but that the work of organizations like Christianity Today and Prison Alliance can bridge gaps with the church by combining forces, working smartly, and leading with impact. He believes that Christianity Today helps make an impact on organizations like Prison Alliance by getting the word out about their work and helping them make connections around the world.
“I don’t think the global church is connected in the right way to cause the right impact,” Lucas explained. “There are small fires here and there. If you put together the small fires, it’s a huge burst. That is what I believe Christianity Today can and will accomplish over time, because you are connecting those small fires.”
***
If you want to pray for Prison Alliance and its work, Lucas asks for prayer for three groups: the staff in Prison Alliance’s office, the volunteers who work with them around the world, and the prisoners they are ministering to each day.
You can connect with Prision Alliance on their website.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
