Texas History Made at Darrington on May 9, 2015:  Graduation!

Summer Newsletter 2015

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NEWS:  FIRST GRADUATION DAY AT DARRINGTON SEMINARY: MAY 9, 2015.



ROSHARON, TEXAS
-- It was a chapel of joy at the Darrington prison on May 9, 2015, as the first graduating class of the Southwestern Seminary at Darrington was honored by friends, family, supporters, and guests.

The Heart of Texas Foundation's generous "Sustaining Contributors" make it possible for our non-profit organization to private the required "private funding" to pay the bills associated with running the 4-year Seminary inside this large state penitentiary.

Thirty-three Seniors walked across the stage in the Darrington Penitentiary "Chapel of the Resurrection," and each man received his fully-accredited (SACS) Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth. The President of the Seminary, Dr. Paige Patterson, was there to congratulate the men!
The 33 men enter the Darrington Chapel.


The families are overjoyed at this moment.
 
The Valedictorian of Class of 2015 Roland Guerra 
Earning his Master of Divinity Brandon Warren, Darrington Seminary's Graduate Assistant from Southwestern Seminary 
Dads and family members are moved at the sight
Ben Phillips, PhD, our outstanding Director, Southwestern Seminary at Darrington

Dr. Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern, addresses the graduating seniors, families, and guests
Families of the Darrington seniors came from far and wide

There are many ministry teams among the men.These are allowed to walk the cellblocks and minister to their peers who are locked in solitary confinement
Grove Norwood welcomes and thanks our senior partner at TDCJ, Executive Director Brad Livingston

Rejoicing to see the graduates walk across the stage
A group of seniors trying on their caps and gowns, with Brenna and Grove Norwood rejoicing with them

Here are some links to articles and videos about the 2015 Graduation.


The two men of influence in our state capitol who gave their blessing to the creation of the Southwestern Seminary at Darrington:  Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R), and Senator John Whitmire (D), both of whom spoke to the Graduating Class
Larry and Carol Smith, long-time friends and earliest supporters of The Heart of Texas Foundation, represent the faces of the many other jubilant supporters who attended the 2015 Graduation
Many gave sincere thanks to our God for His amazing grace, poured out on our work, through our supporters and key partners TDCJ, SWBTS, and the elected officials
The men all received their own copies of the Program



 

NEXT GRADUATION SCHEDULED FOR MAY 9, 2016!  The Heart of Texas Foundation and the Southwestern Faculty are readying another class of men to graduate on Monday, May 9, 2016!  We need your regular "sustaining help" to continue keeping the school sending out seminary graduates every 12 months into the prisons of Texas!  Will you become a "Sustaining Partner" with a monthly donation of any amount to help us keep the doors open?  Please consider setting up regular monthly contributions (no matter what the amount).  Click here to become a Sustaining Partner & Donate, or call Stephanie King at 832-600-4263 for personal assistance in setting up regular monthly/quarterly "investments" into our work.  

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NEWS  
25 Inmate Graduates Are Transferred to Six Maximum-Security Penitentiaries in Texas:  To Serve Life Sentences as "Field Ministers"
Made Possible by our Sustaining Partners 

On June 1, 2015, a Prison Transport Bus arrived at the Darrington Penitentiary and loaded 25 of the 33 Class of 2015 Graduates.  These men have been officially designated by Texas as "Field Ministers."  They were systematically driven to 6 of the Texas maximum-security penitentiaries, and were deployed in teams of 4 men, with one prison receiving 5 men on their team.  Their life sentences have taken on a whole new meaning.  The benefits of these men living and working inside our penitentiaries will have great impact on the Texas taxpayers, victims, neighborhoods, children, and the prison system itself.  Costs will be reduced through their influence within the prisons, as they minister "inmate to inmate" and "lifer to lifer."

The remaining 8 graduates of the Class of 2015 volunteered to remain at Darrington to serve as "Seminary Tutors" and servant-leaders to the Darrington Seminary students, and to serve the general population at Darrington.  Pray for these eight Seminary Tutors and the twenty-five Field Ministers as they work full time, 6 days a week, serving their prison populations with the love of Christ.  The Seminary has equipped them, and YOU have sent them!  The prison staffs are already telling us of the Field Ministers' "amazing work ethics," their integrity, their humility.  One warden introduced the Field Ministers to his staff by saying, "These Field Ministers are now the pastors of our prison."  Only a living God could do this.
 
Our Model is the amazing Angola Seminary at Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, LA:  Now in its 20th year of operation.  The Angola Seminary has changed the stakes in prison reform.  And Texas has joined in leading this movement of God.  The very first year of Angola's Bible Seminary (Angola, Louisiana), the violence rate in the prison began to shrink. Today 20 years later, Angola's violence rate has plummeted more to nearly 80% of what it was when Warden Cain first went to Angola. And now, Angola is known as "America's Safest Prison."  But note what that means for Texas:  Louisiana has just 8 prisons, while Texas has (as of this writing) 109 prisons. Texas needs a large prison seminary sending out teams of transformed men every 12 months as graduates into our huge prison system-- where they will be a powerful influence for the good, to help reduce violence, reduce victims, teach moral change, help lead men to a new life of Spiritual Transformation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Men serving life sentences will be around a long time to help influence the new culture.    The longer we wait, the more victims.  Please become a Sustaining Partner (a regular contributor), and help us provide the long range funding to keep pumping out our graduates into the huge populations within our Texas prisons.

NEWS
SAVE THESE IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2015
----------
5TH ANNUAL HEART OF TEXAS FUNDRAISER BANQUET:  
OCTOBER 16, 2015, from 6-90 pm.
Location:  Sugar Creek Baptist Church, Sugar Land, Texas, 6-9 pm, with one-of-a-kind Inmate Hobbycraft Silent Auction.

Volunteers:  Email your to serve on the Banquet Staging Team to Brenna Norwood, brenna@heartoftexasfoundation.org

-----------------------------------------------
4TH ANNUAL DAY WITH DAD AT DARRINGTON:
NOVEMBER 6-7, 2015
Locations:  Darrington Penitentiary and Sienna Baptist Church, Vicksburg Campus in Sugar Land, TX.  Volunteers needed, limited spaces for volunteers, please sign up early!

Volunteers for the Caregivers Special Day: Email Caregivers Ministry Day with Lenda Crawford

Volunteers for the Prison Day with Dads: Email Wingmen's Ministry Day with Pastors Tracy Baskin and Gary Hill



NEWS
BUILDING RENOVATION CAMPAIGN SHOWING MIRACULOUS PROGRESS
 
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS -- With Mr. Pat King and Mr. David Shaw at the helm, our fundraising campaign for the total renovation of the "old gym" in the Darrington Penitentiary is nearing its goal!  Thank you, everyone who has given to help us give a new birth to the "old gym." We'll have the only educational facility of its kind in the world.      

The proposed new Darrington Seminary building for 2014-2015.
We have almost what we believe is needed to begin construction and remodeling of the "old gym" at Darrington Penitentiary.  We still need someone to put us "over the top."  Can you help? 

Call Pat King at 832-723-2428 if you would like to make a substantial donation, or 
click here to DONATE.  Mention "Building Fund" in your donation note field.

We now have 183 inmate men in Darrington Seminary, four full classes-- each with their own Professors (PhD's) from Southwestern Seminary.  We have freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and our first Senior class!  Graduation was held May 9, 2015 with the men in full caps and gowns, with the President of Southwestern Seminary, Dr. Paige Patterson, along with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Senator John Whitmire, TDCJ Executive Director Brad Livingston and many others to congratulate the Seniors. Texas history with was once again made through the support of the sustaining donors at The Heart of Texas Foundation!

The Seminary equips men to graduate with accredited a B.S Degree in Biblical Studies.  They will then be transferred to other prisons in Texas, to join the Chaplains at those prisons, and begin serving their long sentences in service to others and to the Kingdom of God.






Grove and Brenna Norwood


SIGN UP FOR AN ANGOLA TRIP--
EMAIL GROVE WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND WE'LL TALK.


NEWS
GROVE AND BRENNA HOST MONTHLY GROUPS TO SPECIAL ORIENTATION AT ANGOLA STATE PENITENTIARY IN LOUISIANA

Each month of the year, Grove and Brenna host a small group of influential Christian and business leaders to a two-night stay at the famed Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as "Angola."  This trip has been described by many who have gone as "life changing."  We agree.  If you feel led in your heart to learn more of the work of The Heart of Texas Foundation, and how we came to create a Seminary in Texas like the Seminary at Angola, and if you would like to join us on one of these trips, please email Grove at grove@heartoftexasfoundation.org.

Here are the dates for the remainder of this year.  You will stay in comfortable and safe private quarters built especially for the Warden's special guests--- and room and board will be free!  

ANGOLA PENITENTIARY TRIPS FOR REST OF YEAR, 2015
July 22-24, 2015
August 26-28, 2015
Sept 23-25, 2015
October- no trip
November 18-20, 2015
December - no trip

NEWS
A WORD FROM THE FOUNDER:  PLEASE BECOME A "SUSTAINING CONTRIBUTOR. "
A MONTHLY GIFT OF ANY AMOUNT WILL HELP US KEEP THE SEMINARY FULLY FUNDED EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR.

Dear Friend of our work,
 
Our Seminary now at its capacity goal of approximately 40 men per class.  That is, we aim for enrolling 40 Freshmen each year, and keeping them for four years.  That gives us a current student population of around 160 (40 per class). Therefore, we will graduate about 40 men every 52 weeks, and send them out to other Texas prisons as "Field Ministers."  We will not need tons of money as Seminaries in the free-world do, but we will need to pay the bills inside the prison on into the future, if this movement in Texas is to sustain itself to bring short-and-long term prison reform to our precious state.Think of it!  With you as a "Sustaining Contributor," in 10 years we will have graduated 10 classes, and sent to other waiting Texas prisons literally hundreds of inmates-- each of which will serve out their lengthy sentences as "Field Ministers", morally rehabilitated, and ready to help their peers find new spiritual and moral transformation.

KEEPING THE DOORS OPEN IS OUR GOAL.  That's why we need you to become a SUSTAINING PARTNER.  We love and appreciate our donors, and will always need them, but it is the "SUSTAINING contributor," the regular giver, that will keep the Seminary at Darrington in full operation.  Peter Drucker, who was until his death one of the world's leading business consultants, said that it must be the goal of every non-profit organization to turn "donors" into "regular contributors."  We believe this is sound advice.  You can help us do that.  We need you to become a regular contributor this year, for no matter how much an amount.  Just help us regularly.  Everything we do in the prison system must be privately funded by God's people.  
 
You can help us today by simply forwarding this newsletter to a friend-- we need your help in letting Texas and other states know what we're doing. Can you come alongside us and help us?  Will your church consider putting us in your missions budget so that our work can continue to have impact in Texas?  We believe other states are beginning to see what we are doing, and want to know more.  This is not just about Texas, this is about all of America's penal systems--- they need spiritual transformation from the inside out, and the bottom up.  We believe there is no more effective way to add to the work of volunteers, Kairos, and other efforts, than to add an accredited Prison Seminary in every state in America, and enroll only lifers and inmates with very long sentences.  We focus on TEXAS, but we are ready to be a good neighbor to help people in another state do what we are doing.  We really do need your help.
  • Pastors and Church Leaders:  you are invited to join me for a trip to Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, LA this year.  The dates for my orientation trips ("How a Prison Seminary Changes Prisons") are posted above in this NewsLetter.  Just email us at info@heartoftexasfoundation.org indicating your interest.
  • Let us come to your church, association, prayer group, Sunday School, or university-- and let us tell our story.    
  • How You Can Help...
  • Write a check for $25, $50, $200, $500 or more, payable to 
    "Heart of Texas Foundation," and mail to:  HOTF, POB 991, Fulshear, Texas 77441
     
  • Please become a regular contributor!  Donate Using Paypal. You do NOT need a PayPal Account to do this.  
    Click here to become a Sustaining Partner.
  • Use a Credit Card to donate over the phone.  Just call Stephanie at 832-600-4263.

     
  • If you wish to be a major donor, please allow us to properly recognize, memorialize and direct your gift by calling Grove Norwood at 281-850-8103, or David Hanna, Chairman of the Board, at           (713) 594-2858

 
Standing alongside you under the waterfall of God's grace, with thanksgiving for you,

 

Grove's Signature
The Heart of Texas Foundation, Inc. 




The Heart of Texas Foundation is a public charitable, educational, and religious tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is qualified to receive tax deductible contributions. Financial information may be obtained by request, and our IRS Tax exempt number EIN is 20-4007150 and as such may receive tax deductible contributions under Section 170 of the Code.  We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, and transfers of gifts under Sections 2055, 2106, and 2522 of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code.  Our Annual IRS Tax Return Form 990 is available upon request.  Our CPA Firm is Keller & Denman, of Katy, Texas. Our mailing address is The Heart of Texas Foundation,  POB 991, Fulshear, Texas 77441.  Our phone is 281-850-8103.