Prison Inmates Graduating from Theological Seminary
It is expected graduates will make a difference in the prisons they minister in. So far, they are.
(Parchman, Mississippi)—In Parchman, at Mississippi's only maximum security prison, some prisoners are graduating with a bachelor's degree in Christian ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
As reported in Newsmax, the accredited Southern Baptist school first began offering prison courses in 1996 to Louisiana inmates at Angola prison, and now, along with expanding to Parchman, the seminary is working in Georgia and Florida prisons as well. (Photo: Kansas City Star)
According to the report, Parchman inmates study the Bible and are taught how to preach, evangelize and counsel. Graduates hope to become "missionaries" who can transfer to other state prisons to serve inmates there.
Burl Cain, longtime warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola was quoted as saying the graduates will be expected to help transform prison culture through their faith. So far, it has. "It became a moral place," he said. "I have 145 bachelor degree inmates. When you have that many preachers walking around in the prison, starting churches, how can it be violent?"
