Advanced Studies in Prisons and Beyond
By Brenda Barnes
In our Advanced Studies Department at the Source of Light Ministries International headquarters, we are able to assist colleges, institutes, ministries, and churches with their educational goals and needs with Bible-Institute-level courses for their ministries. We also have an active ministry to individual students through our World Wide Bible Institute (WWBI) courses and our EZRA courses, whether it be through correspondence by mail or through online study out of our office here in Madison, Georgia.
We love working with our students and watching them grow in their faith and mature into followers of Jesus who want to serve Christ and others. Out of all our students, who correspond through the mail, a little over half are prisoners. We have some prisoners who finished all their basic courses through the Madison Discipleship School but wanted to continue, to study with us in our Advanced Studies Department. Only by receiving a scholarship are they able to continue so that the courses can be sent to them. They are so grateful for this opportunity and consistently work hard on their courses. They pray for us and regularly tell us so.
As Covid 19 became ubiquitous and people found it difficult to be confined to their homes, there were those who were in lockdown in prison cells. But, praise God, our students in the Advanced Studies program didn’t get so discouraged that they stopped studying. Instead, they used that time to study harder and do more work in their Bible courses.
When Travis B. was finishing the course Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, he wrote, “I really enjoyed this review of doctrine and the opportunity to test my scriptural engraftment. It is truly thrilling to witness the hidden treasure of Biblical doctrine being proven. To be able to recall His wisdom and act in tandem with the Spirit is so exciting.” Just recently he wrote, “I truly enjoyed this study on Doctrine of Last Things. Today, I see the trends and threads. Thrilling and awestriking, I am ever humbled and assured by the Word! The human lexicon fails me in conveying my thanks in even the least adequate terms to our Lord God for His mighty Word being bestowed upon a least of these as myself. . . . I revel in the opportunity to take the next course; the privilege of this is immense. Thank you deeply!” Praise God for his sincere desire to study the Word of God!
Timothy D. wrote during his study in the course Doctrine of God, “I have learned that God is abundantly merciful, forgiving, and loving, and is relentless in His pursuit of His children who go astray. This has given me hope, peace and purpose.”
He also said, “the awe of God in my life is kind of a combination of the knowledge that there is nothing He can’t do, nothing He doesn’t know, and the fact that out of that greatness, He still sees fit to be aware of me and do amazing things in my life, and my gratitude is for that. We should always feel reverence for God so that we don’t take Him for granted or diminish Him in our minds.”
During his study in our course Matthew, Joseph W. wrote to us. “In prison there are many ups and downs, more downs than ups. With this Covid- 19 and those of us who haven’t taken the vaccine, we are being singled out. We can’t be with those who have taken the vaccine. When I say can’t be with, I mean celled up with each other. So right now, we are forced to cell with people we don’t want to be with. Right now, I’m in this situation with a young guy who didn’t want to cell with me because of what he heard about me, and he didn’t want to leave the cell he was in. God is amazing in how He works. I love Him for His mercy, His love, His protection, and His encouragement. I prayed that His protection would be on me during this situation I am now in. I trust in God for all He has promised me, as I accepted Jesus into my heart and life……..”
Our numerous ministries continue using our curriculum, and those who have used it in the past are renewing their interest again because it is timeless material. As Covid has caused many ministries to rethink through their strategies, WWBI is coming back to mind for many. Ephesians 4:11b-12a says that the Lord gave to the church pastors and teachers; for the perfecting [equipping, training] of the saints, for the work of the ministry. Every church should be training the saints to do the work of the ministry. WWBI uses the Programmed Instruction Method (PIM) which, when properly utilized, allows the student to learn at his own speed, understand and retain the information taught, and then helps the student to apply that material learned to their lives. This systematic study equips students with the knowledge of the Bible that will deepen their relationship with the Lord, and then prepares them to be Biblical church leaders.
This spring, we had a call from Scott K. in Greenville, South Carolina, who has been using WWBI curriculum in his prison ministry for 11 years. He has had 1,500 students over those years; 400 students finished all the courses in year one and 300 students finished all the courses inyear two. WWBI is a great structured Bible program for such a ministry as this. He is expanding his ministry in 2022.
An institute in Fiji called us to assist them with courses again. Because of Covid, this particular institute is not able to get to their extension study sites in remote areas of the country. They would like to use WWBI again to keep their students in those areas studying. They have students who can’t get to the extension sites either, but do have access to the Internet. It is a good thing we have the World Wide Bible Institute (WWBI) fully functioning ONLINE and it can be offered to those students.
One great thing that has come from the Covid pandemic is that we all have had to become more creative in how to accomplish our goals. We have adjusted our thinking in how to get the job done. If you can utilize our Advanced Studies Curricula and would like more information on WWBI, EZRA, or ONLINE learning contact: training@slmin.org.
If you have a burden to give to our Advanced Studies Scholarship Fund to help a prisoner receive courses, you can give to that today online at: www.sourcelight.org/give or by mail at SLM 1011 Mission Rd., Madison, Georgia 30650. Designate Advanced Studies Scholarship Fund.
