Disciple Bible Outreach of Illinois
Our Mission
“To develop and strengthen Bible study ministries in local churches and in outreach settings – especially prisons – which will transform lives, make disciples, and empower Christians for outreach ministry.”
Our Vision
“Making disciples through Bible study to bring God’s grace to a hurting world.”
Disciple Bible Outreach Ministry is managed by:
- Working as a liaison between institutional officials (prison administrators, chaplains etc.), pastors, and volunteers
- Providing volunteer recruitment, training and ongoing supervision
- Providing financial resources for the Disciple Bible Outreach ministry including leadership training and study materials (manuals, videos and study Bibles).
- Working with the State Department of Corrections, Federal prisons, and local jails and detention centers on behalf of the Annual Conferences.
DBOM of Illinois History
What is the history or background on DBOM Inc.?
- Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries was established in North Carolina in 1999 and the curriculum has been used successfully in over 70 North Carolina prisons since then.
- In 2011 expansion began into other States including Tennessee, Louisiana, and in 2013 we began implementation in Illinois.
Why are you aligning with DBOM Inc. versus Kairos, Bereans, or any of the other established Prison Ministry Programs?
- There are a number of high quality outreach programs underway in many prisons, and we felt it was important to conduct a High Quality Bible Study, that could be Consistently replicated across Illinois and the country, and for which the Leader & Student material had already been developed and prison validated.
- This DBOM inc Web-site, Training & Teaching Resources, and Affiliation with these other States as well as with the United Methodist Church ( General Commission on United Methodist Men ), are all reasons we formed an Illinois DBOM Affiliate in 2013. This organized approach to leading a Prison Based Bible study begin being implemented in Illinois Prisons in 2013.
What does the DBOM “Study” typically consist of?
- Disciple Bible Outreach Ministry utilizes the 32 – 34 Week outlined studies from the “Disciple” Study Guide assembled by Richard and Julia Wilke.
- We have also used the 24 week “Disciple Fast Track” developed by their daughter Susan.
- If the chaplain won’t commit to the full study length, we have had success breaking the Old Testament and New Testament halves of each study into separate segments to produce a 12 – 17 week study.
- Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries of Illinois has been incorporated as a 501C3 non-profit by a “Board” of Men & Women that began organizing the implementation in Illinois Prisons in 2013. The successes in those initial facilities can now be used to share an Exciting Story and to document a “Recipe for Success” to be used in additional Illinois facilities.
How many/which facilities are you planning to initially launch into in Illinois?
- We initially targeted 3 State facilities in Decatur, Lincoln, and Stateville ( Joliet area ) .
- We initially targeted 1 Federal facility in Pekin.