Roger Britton still remembers the prayer.
One of the inmates working at Whites Creek Baptist Church in Rockwood, Tennessee, bowed his head before a surprise steak lunch the congregation had prepared. What followed, Britton said, was “the sweetest prayer I have heard in a long time.”
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The inmate was part of a work crew from Morgan County Correctional Facility — a crew that includes at least one graduate from an innovative program that trains prisoners not just for personal spiritual growth but to become ministers themselves.
The program, which began in 2023 and coordinated by Carson-Newman University, is transforming both the men behind bars and the churches they’re beginning to serve.
‘We’re in this together’
Doug Brown, pastor of Witt Baptist Church in Morristown, is one of the ministers teaching missions courses to inmates who are pursuing their bachelor of arts degree in Christian studies with an emphasis in Christian ministry.
“The Lord just laid on my heart the plight of prisoners and the sadness, the drug addictions and things like that, all around us,” Brown said. “We’re in this together and we’re trying to figure this thing called life and ministry out together. And so we’re more coworkers, rather than I’m the teacher standing before them.”
Rethinking their faith, life
Brown’s involvement in the prison ministry started informally, visiting local jails to see relatives of church members. Eventually, he connected with Phil Young, Carson-Newman’s director of prison ministry, who invited him to teach missions courses to inmates enrolled in the bachelor’s degree program.
The inmates in Brown’s class of 14 are mostly middle-aged, many first-generation college students who grew up in church but made decisions that led to incarceration. For many, prison became a turning point.
“The crisis of being in prison and what they went through caused them to rethink their faith and their life,” Brown said.
To qualify for the program, inmates must demonstrate a genuine desire for ministry. According to Brown, participants “have real hearts to reach out and help back in their community or make a difference in some form or fashion to try to help those who might be tempted to do some of the things they did.”
Brown’s teaching style mirrors his experience training pastors in Kenya through the Kenya Baptist Theological College. They’re discussion-based and collaborative rather than lecture-driven.
He connected with David Crutchley, dean of biblical studies at Carson-Newman, through missionary service in Zimbabwe, which opened the door to his current role.
“I’m not one who likes to do a lot of lecture without some discussion,” Brown said. “I have found that in both cultures, once they find out that they are being valued for their contribution, they do very well.”
The learning process is intense with classes being five days a week, six-hours a day.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Zoë Watkins and originally published by the Baptist and Reflector.
