“The Lord is good, his loving kindness is everlasting.

“ Psalm 100:5 AUG US T 2023

MINTS INTERNATIONAL SEMINARY

Rev. Neal & Sandy Hegeman

Part of my role as a missionary is a course on a book of the

Bible (see www.mints.edu),
sent by the Cape Coral Trinity and they are encouraged to
Reformed Church is as national and teach their course(s). We also
Spanish program coordinator for MINTS Seminary have two chaplains who have
in Prison (MSIP). I teach monthly for the Hispanics written courses or are writing
at Walker State Prison in Georgia (about two them.
hours north of where Sandy and I live in Anniston,
Alabama). I visit the other Spanish centers four Our graduates have not
times a year. During these visits I will encourage yet expressed excitement
the English-speaking groups, participate in about transferring. Some
graduations, make sure our 300+ inmates have are orderlies or helpers of
printed course materials and receive The Outlook. chaplains, and they enjoy
teaching in their own prison. Several have transferred for other
The Administrator of Chaplaincy Services for the Florida reasons, and they have done excellent work in setting up study
Department of Corrections, Johnny Frambo, is encouraging MSIP groups. Some inmates who were released are seeking to re-enter,
to prepare their Bachelor and Master inmate graduates to be sent this time, as volunteer teachers.
to the 143 state prisons in Florida to set up MINTS study centers.
He is also encouraging inmate graduates who have returned to We also work in prisons in Cameroon, Chile, Dominican Republic,
society to help with teaching. We have English study centers and Ecuador. Opportunities are being presented to us in
in 20 prisons (18 in Florida, 1 in Georgia, 1 in Manitoba) and 8 Mississippi and Texas. Like the graduates who will be transferring,
have Spanish study centers. Our system allows for students we need to say with Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me.” The message of
and graduates with a superior degree to teach MINTS inmates the gospel will call men to repent from sin, live by faith in Jesus
studying for a lesser degree. Those who have completed the Christ and follow Him to wherever He leads. And He is leading us
Master of Arts in Theological Studies, have written a thesis which to some very interesting prisons.

I continue with the MINTS Spanish program. My role

is as a consultant to leaders who have taken over my
traveling schedule to centers in Latin America. Most
of my teaching is now by zoom. MINTS continue to
cooperate with Reformed Mission Services in Bolivia,
Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Nepal, the Dominican Republic,
and Peru, and with Word and Deed in Ecuador, Nicaragua,
and Venezuela.

We are grateful to the LORD for the prayers and support

from the United Reformed churches.

AUGUST 2023 • PAGE 1

DIVINE HOPE REFORMED BIBLE SEMINARY
Rev. Nathan Brummel

After a Dozen Years of Lecturing

and Making Disciples in Prisons
Twelve years ago, I began lecturing on the Doctrine of
God to 25 students at Danville Correctional Center in
Danville, Illinois. I still remember the astonishment
of the confessing Christians among my students as
they began to learn about the attributes of God and
His decrees. Many of these men had been confessing
Christians for years and diligently attended prison
chapel services. But they were spiritually, biblically, and
theologically malnourished due to the weaknesses of
chapel volunteers and the great gulf between Christian
churches on the outside and confessing Christians
behind bars. They had no idea that Christian theology
was so deep and rich. They were astounded and
comforted by the sovereignty of God in providence and election. A A dozen years later, it is great to see the evidence of the Lord’s
prominent gang leader was talked into checking out the program. blessing on our work. God has wanted to glorify the name of His
For twenty years in prison, he had refused to read any Bible that Son in Illinois and Indiana prisons. In our various campuses we
was offered to him. In this man’s case, the Lord’s providence have mature students who combine academic excellence with
was at work and the Good Shepherd was seeking out a lost, elect godly lives. That is the goal of our seminary: intellectual piety.
sheep. This man completed our four-year program and continues It has been great to see the doctrines of grace affirmed and
to contribute to the welfare of the seminary campus. celebrated across ethnic boundaries.

Again and again, I heard men say, “I thought I knew my Bible.”
But three things had hindered them from understanding their
Bibles. First, they did not have a coherent systematic theology.
The classes that I have taught on the Heidelberg Catechism and in
systematic theology have helped my students to understand the
great doctrines of the Christian Faith and how the great doctrines
relate to each other. Second, they did not understand their
Bibles because they had not been taught how to read, interpret,
or dig into the Sacred Scriptures. Prison chapel volunteers gave
messages on the surface of texts and did not provide expository
preaching. Third, they did not understand their Bibles because
they did not have a covenant theology. They did not perceive the
great storyline in the great work of redemption. The doctrine of
the divine covenants helped them to understand what God was
doing in the Old Testament and how the New Testament fulfilled
the old covenant.
Today we have spiritual leaders in our campuses. These men
walk worthy of the gospel, display a God-given wisdom, and are
mentoring newer students. We have students who have learned to
exegete the Scriptures and present lively Bible messages at Sunday
morning chapels. More students want to become members of
Reformed churches despite life sentences. Another development
is that we have more students who have been released and are off
parole. One student regularly calls me for advice as he works on
messages for the black church he attends in south Chicago. It is a
joy to meet the family members of students. Recently we hosted a
former student and his mother on the Lord’s Day. It is a joy to see
my released students walking in the truth.

AUGUST 2023 • PAGE 2