Taylor Gurley said when he first agreed to teach theology courses at Bibb Correctional Facility, he wondered how it would go. He knew the prison’s reputation as one of the worst in the nation, at least it had been at some point in the past.
It didn’t take long, though, before his picture of teaching there “radically changed.” The inmates may wear uniforms, he said, “but the men I teach every Wednesday are my family and brothers in Christ, just like the members at Four Points, and I love them.”
Subscribe to The Alabama Baptist today
SIGN UP for our weekly Highlights emails that hit your inbox on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Gurley, pastor of Four Points Baptist Church in Centreville, has taught courses there since 2022 through Samford University’s Ministry Training Institute, a certificate program that offers theological and practical training to equip people to be leaders in their churches and communities.
“We’re essentially training inmates who already love Jesus, we’re just training them theologically,” Gurley said. “They’re going to be much better evangelists inside the prison than I’m ever going to be. I’m training them to be better disciples or evangelists inside the walls themselves.”
In May, MTI gave certificates to 16 graduates in their first graduation ceremony there.
Gurley said the MTI there has added to some robust work other ministries have also been doing there in recent years.
“If you were to talk to people 10, 15, 20 years ago about Bibb and then see what it looks like today, you would see what a radical transformation has happened there,” he said. “MTI, along with the other ministries at the prison, is a reminder to us that God is sovereign in salvation and the gospel always has an effect even in the darkest of places.”
‘Our mission field’
Bill Russell, associational mission strategist for Bibb Baptist Association, said Bibb Correctional Facility “is right here in our mission field, our backyard.”
Bibb Association partners with MTI to provide books for the students in addition to Gurley’s teaching.
“It became a ministry priority for us — we were going to put it in the association’s budget, but once the churches found out about it, they provided us with the monetary resources needed,” Russell said.
He said they feel like it’s an investment that is bearing fruit.
“The prisoners who are participating in it are chosen by the chaplain, then they are giving themselves totally to the teaching and the work, so we feel like it’s improving their life,” Russell said. “They can be people who make a difference in the world.”
Share with others: