SHAWNEE—Graduates of Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) often go on to be leaders in their field of study.

From nurses to teachers, pastors to business executives, OBU grads are making a difference for Jesus in this state and beyond.

The same can be said of the recent graduates of the OBU Prison Divinity Program (PDP) at the Lexington Assessment & Reception Center (LARC).

Since 2021, OBU has offered a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies to inmates in an Oklahoma prison. The OBU PDP, launched in partnership with Oklahoma Baptists, provides incarcerated men with an accredited Christian liberal arts education. All PDP courses are taught face-to-face at the Lexington Center, and the program is led by OBU Professor PDP Director Bruce Perkins.

The program’s objective is to facilitate change in the culture of the prison system with greater respect for authority as well as their fellow man.

In May of 2025, OBU graduated its inaugural class in the program, with 30 graduates.

Upon completion of their degrees, these graduates were eligible to be commissioned as “field ministers” and deployed to other prisons across the state.

When graduates are commissioned as field ministers, they serve in correctional facilities across the state to provide pastoral care, mentorship and moral guidance to their fellow inmates.

Of OBU’s Class of 2025 graduates, 17 have become field ministers, recognized by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC), which partners with OBU in this program.

Five OBU Prison Divinity Program graduates who are now field ministers are Miguel, Aaron, Dean, Shayne and Tracey (Class of 2025). Not only are these men each walking with the Lord personally, they also are now sharing Jesus with everyone they can and making disciples. Each of these men are serving an extended prison sentence, yet God radically changed each of their lives.

Miguel, Dean and Aaron were transferred from Lexington to the Allen Gamble Correctional Center near Holdenville, a medium-security prison.

“At first, when I learned we were going to be transferred to another prison, I was apprehensive and hesitant,” said Aaron. “But once we got here, I could see the Lord was it in, and that He put us here for a purpose.”

At Holdenville, the field ministers already have started weekly worship services, Bible studies and more. The worship service, which had not taken place at Holdenville until recently, is growing and has had as many as 70 attend. They have seen inmates who were stuck in lives of despair and addiction turn to Jesus and find hope and new life.

Meanwhile, Shayne and Tracey were transferred to J.H. Lilley Correctional Center in Boley.

All field ministers work in tandem with the chaplains—Ron Lindsey, Acting Chaplain at Holdenville, and Frank Gregory, Chaplain at Boley.

“These men are a Godsend,” said Chaplain Gregory. “The Lord was already at work in the lives of the men here, but they have been such a blessing to extend the ministry.”

Shayne describes how he wants to share the Gospel with other men, so Jesus can change their lives as He has changed his. He said Bruce Perkins “has had a bigger impact on my life than any other man. Oklahoma Baptists would be glad to know of what a difference this program is making.” Shane added, “Prison is a dark place, but we want to share the Light of Christ.”

At Boley, worship services, Bible study, and Navigators-style one-on-one discipleship meetings are happening each week and only growing.

Perkins has seen firsthand what a difference Jesus has made at Lexington, Holdenville and Boley. “We have seen more than 1,200 men come to Jesus through the OBU Prison Divinity Program at LARC,” he said. “An additional 200 men have trusted Jesus through the witness of our field ministries. With God’s help, we will continue to see the Lord at work through the PDP and field ministers program.”

Some of the field ministers are serving life sentences in prison. Yet because Jesus has saved them and set them into service, they now know that a life sentence can be turned into a life of service.

Learn More about the OBU Prison Divinity Program

The OBU Prison Divinity Program was recently recognized as the top academic institution of the year at the National Moral Rehabilitation Conference, where Chaplain Ron Lindsey also received the chaplain of the year award during the event. This degree is a fully accredited, four-year Christian liberal arts degree, which includes an internship with the prison chaplain.

The program also intends to facilitate greater safety within each unit where field ministers are deployed and allowed to serve and to provide a pathway to reduced recidivism of those who have been impacted by the service of the graduates. For more information, visit okbu.edu/pdp.