Aaron (*name has been changed) never thought he would enjoy responding to emails.

For inmates on the receiving end at the Smithfield State Correctional Institution, those emails are a lifeline.

Aaron is one of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses who volunteer in a prison ministry that has ramped up during the pandemic. New methods were tested with the hope of reaching some 2.1 million incarcerated individuals in the United States with comfort and hope from the Bible amid lockdowns at these facilities.

Growing up in Northampton, Aaron attended religious services, but his faith faded into the...