News / Education
Inmates benefit from Christian Growth Study Plan
More than 14,090 requests have been made by inmates alone
Notably, Stubblefield receives almost daily feedback from an unlikely group of CGSP students – prison inmates.
“I get letters almost daily telling me how a certain workbook in the Christian Growth Study Plan has made a difference in the lives of inmates,” Stubblefield said. “I also get letters from prison chaplains and volunteers telling me how our resources, MasterLife in particular, have impacted the lives of incarcerated individuals.”
Stubblefield also has received phone calls from parents of inmates sharing testimonies of how their sons and daughters have grown closer to God through CGSP material.
After Stubblefield shared with her coworkers the tremendous feedback she was getting from inmates, Ann Duncan, who also works in leadership ministry training and events, began to research the extent of prison chaplains and prison ministries across the country to reveal a large number of potential CGSP and LifeWay resource users.
Since the program’s inception, more than 14,090 requests have been made for CGSP credit from inmates.
Donna Gandy, manager of training and events services at LifeWay, said that even before the feedback started rolling in, LifeWay has had a long-standing relationship with prison chaplains and ministries through the CGSP.
“Chaplains in prison ministries find that CGSP is a great way for inmates to study in a structured way Christian growth principles,” she said.
The five most popular courses for inmates include: Experiencing God, Survival Kit, Living Your Christian Values, God’s Transforming Word, and Making Peace with Your Past.
“We began to search out ways we could become more involved in impacting prison ministry,” Duncan said. “We learned about the Tennessee Faith in Corrections Conference, an annual conference for chaplains and volunteers who work in prison ministry.”
Duncan and Stubblefield on May 2-3 hosted for the second consecutive year a booth of LifeWay resources for attendees of the two-day conference held at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn.
“This is a wonderful way to showcase the many resources we have to help prison ministries,” Duncan said.
Deborah Newman, Mason, Tenn., attended the conference. She volunteers at the West Tennessee Detention Facility where she mentors women inmates.
Newman said she has used the resource Making Peace with Your Past on many occasions. “This is an incredible resource that teaches women to settle their issues from the past and give God control of their lives. I have seen many women let go of many hurtful issues of their past and move on to freedom in Christ.”
Newman also has seen a growth in the popularity of the Spanish Bible published by Holman Bible Outreach International, a LifeWay ministry.
“I minister to many immigrants who speak Spanish and the HBOI has been a blessing to them,” Newman said.
“With all the women I work with, I want to instill in them that God is our Healer,” she said. “I teach them that God is the only key to set them free. If God is not involved in the rehabilitation process, I can’t promise what the outcome will be.”
Christian Growth Study Plan is a free service that LifeWay has provided for more than 100 years. It is a systematic self-study, guided Christian growth curriculum that churches and individuals can use for leadership and ministry development. CGSP has a certificate plan that participants can follow and receive credit for work accomplished. Sample course catalog sections include training adult Sunday school leaders, childhood education, deacon ministry, lay ministry, Baptist doctrine and more.
To learn more about Christian Growth Study Plan visit www.lifeway.com/cgsp.
For up-to-date news and information regarding LifeWay Christian Resources, visit www.lifeway.com/news.
