Gustavo was 20 years old when he made the biggest mistake of his life. Now, he’s serving a life sentence. But this week marks a new chapter in his life and the lives of 24 other student inmates. Classes started yesterday in Oregon’s first of its kind bachelors degree program in its prison system. Everyone…
DetailsWhat does GOD call a prisoner? FORGIVEN! This week we saw a dramatic example of how the power of forgiveness in Christ grabbed the headlines. A Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger, was sentenced for the shooting death of her unarmed neighbor in his apartment, and at her sentencing, the victim’s 18-year-old brother Brandt Jean publicly…
DetailsWhat do YOU call an inmate? Prisoner? Criminal? Offender? Throwaway? These and many other names label men behind bars. The Department of Corrections is officially changing the designation of “inmate” to “adult in custody,” AIC. But those who will start their bachelor’s degree program in two weeks are thrilled to be given a new name:…
DetailsMy last email mistakenly stated that on November 27 I am going to meet the first 25 men who have been admitted to the Corban extension in OSCI. The correct date for this exciting gathering is this Friday, September 27. Please pray over these students and this gathering, and praise God with us for all that…
DetailsWhen Peter gets out of prison, his oldest son, who is currently six, will be 30 years old. Prison is tragic. Not only for the inmate, but also for the young boys and girls who will never experience having a father close by. It is a well established fact that children of inmates are three…
DetailsOnly God could orchestrate what is happening right now in the lives of inmates who have been selected for our first class of 25. Here is another amazing story: “When I was first arrested, I didn’t transition well. I was going to commit suicide two weeks later, but ended up crying myself to sleep that…
DetailsI’ll call him “Al” and he’s in for 20 years. Bound up in the chains of drug addiction, and desperate for cash, he did some bad stuff. But today, his chains are broken through Christ and he’s a model inmate who wrote in his application essay “I’m fully convinced that loving and helping others is…
DetailsAs a Judge for twenty years in the criminal justice system, I’ve sent hundreds of people to prison. Abraham Lincoln once said: “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” And I agree. The scripture says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:13) Here is your opportunity to show mercy to a prisoner in…
DetailsI’ll call him “Jason” and he’s made some horrific mistakes. But as of last week, Jason is now a student enrolled in the Corban University extension at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. His application essay scored 100 out of 100 points, and I’ll let you see why. He wrote… “Ever since I’ve come into a…
DetailsNovember 9, 2019 6 to 8:30 p.m. Paid in Full Oregon’s Fall Banquet BREAKING CHAINS Giving inmates the opportunity to rise above their past to a better future! This Fall, Paid in Full Oregon, in partnership with Corban University, will launch the first ever bachelor’s degree program for inmates in Oregon’s prison system. Please join…
Details