I went to prison, so I taught Greek.
There are a lot of things you probably would not correlate with prison. Greek courses must definitely be up on that list. Nevertheless, when I was invited to teach at my church in prison, the request was specifically for Greek (as well as Hermeneutics). I will admit, at first, I did not think that a Greek class was a great idea. Most people in prison did not finish high school - often not junior high, much less college or grad school where one would normally learn something as difficult as Greek. To lean Greek requires a lot of grammar, memorization, and homework. It is a difficult language even for privileged career students. I feel justified in my original reluctance.
My brothers, however, were insistent. This was a very unique opportunity. One that they had been waiting for a very long time. We had already gone through a sixteen-week course on hermeneutics using Jeanine Brown’s Scripture as Communication so they had a taste of academic biblical studies and they loved it. It was challenging, interesting and fun.
Now, what they wanted was Greek. No matter how difficult, it is something that many believers in prison value and desire. The brothers would not be dissuaded. The most popular resource for teaching biblical Greek is William D. Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek. Mounce has much more than just a textbook. He has cd’s, laminated charts, condensed versions, online courses… everything but the t-shirt (yes I looked). Unfortunately, in prison we don’t have computers, internet or good. We can’t get hardcover books, vocab cards, or CDs. We are limited to 10 books per individual which usually get’s eaten up very quickly (inmates read a lot). We could get the grammar and workbook, but the average inmate makes about 4-16 cents an hour. To buy the texts would require saving up 100% of our income for about a year to get a single pair.
By God’s grace we found friends on the outside who were willing to sponsor and send in the first 5 pairs. This allowed up get up and running - and boy did we run. Most of the brothers took to Greek like fish to water and quickly we were rolling. By the time I left, I was able to identify a brother who was clearly gifted enough to teach Greek and he picked up the mantel. After I left he continued and has taught several rounds of Greek I.
Greek is not for everyone, but so many incarcerated brothers give it a shot that Greek continues to be a popular class. As CDC shifts inmates, this passion has been spread to other yards. Now we’re trying to support classes on multiple yards. Last month we finally submitted online Greek classes to Edovo - an education portal available in select prisons. Our prayers are that the submission goes smoothly so that these classes can be available to inmates with access to Edovo.
Edovo offers inmates religious content which includes mostly sermons and life application content which the brothers absolutely love. What is missing, however, is academic biblical studies content. That’s where we come in. Our goal is to publish classes on
Greek 1-4
Hermeneutics
History, Geography & Archeology
New Testament
Old Testament
Theology
Ministry
We are just getting started. We have a lot to do. Please pray for the brothers in prison. God will hear your prayers! Thank you. Stay tuned for updates.
