Chuck Colson Prison Ministry Sells Campus to Alliance Defending Freedom
Chuck Colson’s prison ministry, Of Prison Fellowship, has recently announced its plan to sell its 11.3-acre Washington D.C. campus to Evangelical non-profit legal group Alliance Defending Freedom.
According to Christianity Today, the prison fellowship, which is part of Chuck Colson’s ministry, had largely been working remotely prior to the pandemic and since been able to transition almost all of their remaining employees into remote work settings. For this reason, the group has decided to sell its three-story office building to Alliance Defending Freedom.
This move is reportedly pleasing for all sides, with the president and CEO of the prison fellowship, James J. Ackerman, stating “When ADF came along, the heart of the board, if you will, leapt. They thought, ‘This would be so awesome if God’s work could continue on the land dedicated to the Lord’s work by Chuck Colson himself.'”
According to Michael Farris, CEO and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, the prison fellowship will still operate in a way that will honor its ministry. He shared that “Prison Fellowship is directly carrying on Chuck Colson’s ministry, but we like to think that we remain standing in Chuck Colson’s shadow. He cast a big shadow across a lot of big issues, and we’ve been the beneficiary of that work, and we’re just honored to have any connection to him.”
The details of the sale were not publicly disclosed by either side, but according to Christianity Today, ADF will move 50 to 60 of its 200 employees to the new location as early as this fall.
Of Prison Fellowship is reportedly going to be leasing a small space in the building. Other organizations moving into the building include Care Net, a pregnancy center network, and the McLean Bible Church of Loudon campus.
This move is reportedly part of a larger movement within evangelical ministries where they are leasing out areas to other tenants to help supplement income during COVID-19. Lifeway has also been trying to rent to tenants.
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John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Daily Fodder, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
