wfn.org | Disciple Bible Study

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (159
notes).

Note 159 by UMNS on June 16, 1997 at 15:28 Eastern (4724 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                        347(10-21-30-71B){159}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             June 16, 1997

Disciple Bible study goes
to prison in North Carolina

                 by United Methodist News Service

     United Methodist churches in North Carolina have taken the
Disciple Bible Study to prison.
     Since 1995, members of Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church,
Greensboro,  have taken the Disciple Bible Studies to prisoners in
the minimum security prisons in the Winston-Salem area.
     This ministry developed after a group of the church's
Disciple students wanted to use what they learned from the study
to make a difference in their community.
     Two members of the congregation, Darrell Sayles and Darrell
Hayden, contacted the Rev. Michael Lee of the Forsyth Prison
Chaplaincy in Winston-Salem to propose the church bringing the
Bible study to the prison. The proposal was accepted and the first
Disciple Bible Study prison group was born. 
     Currently two study groups are underway at the Forsyth prison
and another has been formed at the nearby Alamance prison.
     Disciple, a program of disciplined small-group Bible study
aimed at developing strong Christian leaders, carries participants
through the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. Other
studies take students deeper into selected portions of Scripture.
     According to the Rev. Mark Hicks, associate pastor at Mt.
Pisgah, "this is a Bible study program but it is so much more." He
said the volunteer study leaders spend 34-weeks at the prison
learning to love, understand and relate to the male and female
inmates.
     "There is more than one way to preach the gospel," Hicks
said. "We seek to preach Christ by showing His love and care to
these inmates." They are also given a new study Bible at the
beginning of the Disciple study. 
     "I will never forget the inmate who, with tears streaming
down his face, could not believe that someone cared enough about
him to buy him a new Bible," Hicks said.
     In addition to having contact with the inmates at the prison,
volunteers are encouraged to take the prisoners out on pass and
bring them to the church for worship and other activities. "We at
Mt. Pisgah have witnessed the breaking down of many barriers that
divide people -- such as race, fear and misunderstanding," Hicks
said. "I have witnessed many attitudes change as our congregation
has grown to understand that we need to be in ministry to all
people." 
     According to Lee, the Disciple Bible study for the prisoners
is "an effective way to challenge inmates to grow deeper in their
spiritual lives." He said the elements of Bible study, small group
discussion and support, along with modeling "authentic Christian
discipleship by the leaders, all combine to help our men grow into
the mature disciples Christ has called them to be."
     The Disciple Bible Study at the prison has also gained the
support of Mack Jarvis, North Carolina Secretary of Corrections.
Presently, 46 percent of inmates paroled in North Carolina return
to prison within three years. 
     "By linking inmates with local congregations, we hope to
provide a network of caring Christian friends on the outside who
will nurture the parolees and help them rediscover their place of
belonging with the community," Hicks said.
     Because prisoners often are paroled while participating in
Disciple, simultaneous studies are held at local churches and in
prison units so that parolees can complete the study at a  church.
     Because of Mt. Pisgah's success sponsoring studies at 
Forsyth, the Disciple Bible study in minimum security prisons is
to be expanded statewide. 
     The program has received the endorsement of the committees on
Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries of both the Western North
Carolina and North Carolina United Methodist annual conferences
and is being put into motion by the North Carolina State Division
of Prisons.  Hicks, also a member of the Criminal Justice and
Mercy Ministries of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference,
was named program coordinator. 
     In a show of support for the prison program, the 1997 session
of the Western North Carolina Conference adopted a petition
encouraging churches to establish Disciple Bible Studies in
minimum-security prisons in the state and provide leadership and
financial resources.
     "It is our hope that this program will grow, not only in
North Carolina, but throughout Methodism," Hicks said. 
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