This May Pastor Knoll had the chance to meet with a few of our graduates. First he visited with a 2022 graduate at Jackson Correctional. He has been involved with a couple of different jobs (janitorial and food service) since they last met. He shared that he continues to wrestle with the concepts of God, Creation, Eternity, etc. that he learned in the program. He has a very scientific mind that has been challenged with the truth of the Bible. He shared with me that, because Pastor Knoll has a background as an Engineer- that challenged him on so many levels using the science that he embraced, he was beginning to think more outside of his finite box, maybe accepting “this stuff”. We continue to pray that this graduate continues to question big ideas and concepts and finds that Science doesn’t need to divide his beliefs but framework it.
Following the visit at Jackson, Pastor Knoll visited two graduates at the Felmers Correctional Center, a minimum, work
release facility. One graduate from the class of 2024, scheduled to be released in August, 2026, was excited to let me know that he is already working with a pastor at his church regarding ministry he can do when he is released. This wasn’t necessarily a surprise, as he had talked about doing ministry since starting the program in 2020. He shared that he is excited to use his education and that his pastor is excited to have someone working with him who has received a Bible education like ours.
The second graduate (class of 2022), scheduled to go home fall of 2026 is working for a local Milwaukee company that makes all employees part owner when they hit their probation date. He was excited to share that he has officially become “part owner” of the company, something he never dreamt of. The other thing he was excited to tell Pastor Knoll is that he is discovering how much he uses his education on the job. His psychology classes have come in handy as what he learned has helped him guide others, and his Bible classes have allowed him to offer answers to guys if questions about religion come up. Pastor Knoll has expressed that he will miss both of these me when they go home, but is thrilled to know that our program had such an impact on them, and now they will have a lifetime impact on others (they were both quick to remind him of his own quote to students … “your education isn’t just for you, it’s for everyone you meet for the rest of your lives”!)