BTS Prison Initiative
BTS Prison Initiative: Hope & Transformation
Birmingham Theological Seminary’s BTS Prison Initiative is a unique, two-year program that brings comprehensive theological training directly to inmates across Alabama at Bibb County Correctional Facility. The curriculum equips men to serve as disciplers, evangelists, counselors, and faithful proclaimers of God’s Word—ministering to their fellow inmates and transforming prison culture from the inside out.
About the Program
Same Rigor
The professors that teach in this program are the same professors that teach classes at different BTS Learning Centers throughout Alabama.
Selective Cohorts
Every other year, 15 inmates are selected from various state prisons to take Seminary classes at Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent, Alabama.
Leadership Development
Graduates serve in leadership roles at Bibb Correctional and impact multiple prisons
across the state, with plans for future growth to transform more facilities with the gospel.
How It Began
In 2015 Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn invited BTS to bring seminary classes behind bars. After studying proven models in Louisiana and South Carolina, BTS launched Cohort 1 in 2016 with 15 men who slept in shifts for safety. That same bay—plus three more—now houses 300 professing Christians leading Bible studies, counseling peers, and sharing the gospel.
Cohort Progress at a Glance
Students received the same level of graduate education as other BTS students throughout the state of Alabama. Students take classes four days a week studying the BTS Master of Biblical Studies program.
Launched in 2016, the BTS Prison Initiative's first graduates (2018) are now serving in four Alabama prisons.
Cohort 2 (13 men), launched in 2018, graduated in December 2021 due to COVID-19 delays.
Cohort 3 (10 men) began in September 2021, with full classes starting January 2022, and graduated in September 2024.
Currently in full-time classes, Cohort 4 (10 men) started in Summer 2024 and anticipates a September 2026 graduation.
Recruiting has already begun for Cohort 5.
Led by Dr. Thad James, Jr.
As Director of the BTS Prison Initiative Coordinator, Dr. Thad James, Jr. oversees every facet of the program—from faculty scheduling and curriculum quality to day-to-day mentoring inside Bibb Correctional Facility. His decades of pastoral experience and deep commitment to discipleship ensure each cohort receives rigorous theological training and personal shepherding that transforms both hearts and prison culture.
The Prison Initative's Partners
Reformation Bible College
BTS offers a dual credit agreement program with Reformation Bible College (a ministry of Ligonier) for graduates with degrees in Biblical Studies to help jump-start their seminary studies, if applied within five years of graduating from RBC.
Ligonier Ministries
Ligonier Ministries, founded by R.C. Sproul, exists to proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible. BTS works directly with Ligonier Ministries in our Prison Initiative, utilizing Ligonier resources for BTS learners inside prison and BTS Bibb Correctional graduates lead the only Ligonier Certificate training program inside a prison out of over 800 prisons where Ligonier participates in providing resources.
Unbound216
UnBound216 is a faith-based transitional care ministry designed to prepare inmates for release by helping them discover their God-given purpose. BTS Bibb County graduates are team leaders for Unbound216 participants.
