NEWPORT NEWS — Too old for meaningful ministry? Not according to a group of women and one man from Temple Baptist Church in Newport News.
For 28 years the church has provided ministry in Newport News and other Hampton Roads cities by grading Bible-study tests taken by inmates in their respective jails.
“We grade the papers and write little notes of encouragement in the margins,” reports Patricia Hudgins, who heads the ministry currently.
On June 2, Hudgins was honored along with others who are a part of the “Grading Center” by Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan. Chaplain Walter Eley and Assistant Chaplain Iris Walker were on hand to add their prayers and blessings to the Temple volunteers.
One of the special features of the program was a testimony by a former inmate who had taken the Bible courses and whose papers had been graded by these volunteers. Thomas Beddingfield told of his experience taking the courses and of the encouragement the notes provided.
“Our volunteers never get to see inmates personally, so the only contact is through the notes the graders write. Getting to meet Thomas and to hear from him about the difference Christ has made in his life was really special,” noted Donna Clingenpeel, Temple's administrative assistant.
Most of Temple's 19 graders are older. Many live at The Chesapeake, a Virginia Baptist retirement community in Newport News. They acknowledge that age and its attendant aches and pains keep them from participating in many kinds of ministries. But they can still make a significant contribution to the kingdom of Christ by grading papers for inmates taking Bible courses in the area's jails.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, NIV).