An awesome move of the Holy Spirit is taking place where most people would expect nothing good to happen – inside the walls of many of our prisons and jails. God is not only transforming lives, but he is gifting and calling so-called thugs, thieves and murderers to participate with Him in His Great Commission. These men and women are radical in their evangelism, equipped to make disciples and some are being called to pastor and plant churches inside and outside the prison walls. When released, they want to go back to the low income, high crime communities they once ravaged to glorify His name.
In partnership with Prison Fellowship, we have over 1,300 incarcerated inmates who are receiving theological education through World Impact’s The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) program. These students are going through TUMI’s Capstone Curriculum, a 16 module training program, taught at a seminary level, specifically designed to serve as the most essential knowledge and skill learning necessary for urban ministry and church leadership.
I was recently at Muskegon Correctional Facility, in Michigan, speaking to a TUMI class of 23 students. One man, who has been incarcerated for over 20 years will soon be released. He will be paroled in the Flint, MI, area under the care of a church elder. His vision and heart is to reach out to the urban poor with the gospel.
We have set a priority in developing a process with Prison Fellowship to capture incarcerated TUMI students who have a calling to plant a church among the poor. Our vision is to equip, coach, resource and release these individuals into some of the most forgotten places in our inner cities to establish as “outpost” of the Kingdom of God for His glory.
