I was on a prison wing in a high security prison in the South of England when a prisoner ran out shouting, ‘It’s real, it’s real!’ He’d encountered Jesus – the face of Jesus – in his cell. This guy was not a Christian, but he was in crisis and thinking of taking his life. When he saw Jesus, all his fear and anxiety fell away.

You’ll hear stories like this in prisons right across England and Wales. God is moving powerfully – and the amazing generosity of Bible Society supporters is key to lives being changed behind bars.

My name is Dominic Dring and I am a chaplain in two prisons; one high-security institution and one open prison. I want to thank Bible Society supporters for their committed giving, because you are helping to provide Bibles and run The Bible Course* in these prisons. Thanks to this generosity, people are meeting Jesus in the pages of Scripture – and their growing faith is strengthened.

Encountering Jesus

I’ve been a prison chaplain for four years. Previously I worked as a social worker and ran a homeless charity before God led me into this. I’ve seen more people encounter Jesus personally in prison than in decades of ministry in churches.

Prison chaplaincy has three strands. We provide a statutory service; for example, every prisoner has to be seen by a chaplain within 24 hours of arriving in jail. We provide pastoral care, and we offer faith support.

Faith support

Faith support is where Bible Society supporters come in. With your help, I run The Bible Course, an eight-session small group programme created by Bible Society that journeys through the big story of Scripture. It brings prisoners together to explore different perceptions and insights, and suits all denominations and none. The course is pitched well, intellectually, so doesn’t exclude those who are illiterate or have poor literacy – which applies to many prisoners.

The Bible Course strengthens faith. One prisoner, Richard, told me, ‘I got a deeper understanding of the Bible … how the story unfolds and progresses. It made me realise: this is real. The course gave me the confidence and courage to express my faith in front of other prisoners.’

Bible Society supporters are also providing Bibles to prisoners. Giving a guy a Bible, especially in the high security prison where people are in their cells most of the time, is powerful.

Will you help meet the growing demand for God’s word in prisons? Give Dominic more Bibles to share with prisoners and create the opportunity for more prisoners to take The Bible Course.

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