NASHVILLE, NC – On Aug. 19, the N.C. Department of Adult Correction celebrated 10 years of the N.C. Field Minister program, a successful partnership with Judson College and Game Plan for Life.
The celebration took place during the Judson College convocation that signals the start of the school year. Current students at Nash CI joined program graduates in the gymnasium to hear from NCDAC and Judson College senior officials, as well as the founder of Game Plan for Life -- NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs.
Incarcerated students in the program pursue a fully accredited, in-person Bachelor of Arts degree that equips them to serve as "field ministers" in their own faith tradition. Graduates are formed into teams and deployed to prison facilities across the state where they enlist their training to bring hope and lasting transformation within the correctional setting, through peer counseling, mentoring, hospice care, book studies, worship services, and community service.
The current class is the ninth cohort of students in the program, with 87 taking classes. There are 80 graduates deployed in 16 prisons across the state. The first women's cohort of 19 students matriculated in January 2024 at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh and will graduate in December 2027.
Current field minister student William Singletary shared his own story of coming into the program. It began when, as a new believer, he met four deployed field ministers at his facility, Granville Correctional Institution.
“They not only became my mentors; they became my friends. These men challenged me in ways that I never anticipated,” Singletary said. “The impact of this program reaches far beyond the confines of these walls. It cultivates hope and resilience that can change lives.”
During the ceremony, NCDAC Chief Operating Officer Tammera Hill and Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes congratulated everyone on the partnership and success. Sec. Dismukes said this was one of the most successful educational programs in the department.
“If someone were to ask me, ‘What is the most impactful program in our department?’ I would say, ‘Hands down, without a doubt, it’s our Field Minister Program.’" Sec. Dismukes said. "This program allows us to bring partners from the outside to reach you, and then it allows you, when you earn your yellow shirt (graduate), to reach everyone, all 33,000 people who are with us in the department. And that is a huge mission and a huge charge, but you are credible messengers. You are the people who can change lives.”
COO Hill told the justice involved individuals that she was proud of them and proud of what they’d chosen to do. She compared the field ministers to Jonah and his ministry in Ninevah, where he didn’t want to go but God led him to the place that needed his ministry.
“While Jonah sat in the belly of the fish, he got some discipline,” COO Hill said. “First, he had disobedience, then he got discipline and then he got deliverance. God told him to go to Ninevah and this time he goes. As a result of Jonah doing what he was called to do, a whole city got saved. You, gentlemen, are all Jonah.”
The audience also heard from Daniel Akin, the president emeritus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary who helped start the program, and current Southeastern President Scott Pace.
Gibbs credited Game Plan for Life Board Member Mark Howard with the idea and thanked NCDAC and Southeastern for helping it get off the ground quickly.
“I thought this would take at least 5 years to get going … and in one year it was all done,” Gibbs said. “I now God was a part of it. He told us to get off the sidelines, and it took just one of us (Howard) to get in the game and get it done.”
Field minister Barry Mintz, a member of the first cohort, shared some of his own testimony and experience of the past 10 years. He recounted his experiences teaching and serving others and closed with a story about an offender who lost his father the day before he was released from prison.
“I just opened my arms. I said, ‘Come here, man.’ And I just embraced him. And in that moment, I realized that we weren’t just equipped to think well, to read well, to write well, and speak well — but we had been equipped to love well.
“I’m 21 years into a life sentence without parole, and my journey to this moment right now is a testament to the transformative power of faith and education.”
NOTE: Photos from the event can be found on the NCDAC Flickr account.