NORCO, Calif. (AP) — Almost 900 inmates in California prisons are taking part in a seminary training program that officials hope will lead them to plant churches and evangelize on the outside.
The program was built from an experiment begun four years ago by The Urban Ministry Institute at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, about an hour southeast of Los Angeles.
Now it has been funded with a $2 million donation from a Malibu entrepreneur and is expanding to 18 prisons.
Students in the program say the heavy academic work is helping to prepare them for starting their own ministries or continuing their educations upon release.
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Online:
Prison Fellowship: http://www.prisonfellowship.org
The Urban Ministry Institute: http://www.tumi.org
