Twice a year, men from northwest Iowa volunteer to go inside prison walls to share the love of Christ.

Men from northwest Iowa and eastern South Dakota are being called to help inmates at the medium security Fort Dodge Correctional Facility in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and the minimum security correctional facility at Springfield, S.D., through the Brothers in Blue program.

The sessions are led by pastors and laymen. These volunteers go twice a year and spend 3½ days inside with the inmates. The Brothers in Blue program is a spinoff of Cursillo, which means “short course in Christian living.”

“Our goal is to reach 10 percent of the inmates each time we come,” said Jon Peters of Brandon, S.D. “God called me to Brothers in Blue. I thought I was going to fix lives of the inmates. I was the one who was changed. 

Last time we were in Fort Dodge, we had 110 men attend — or 10 percent of the population.”

The overall theme is God’s grace and how to find that grace in their lives. Several pastors come and help present the ideas to the men, including Pastor Paul Stone, who is the active pastor inside the walls at Fort Dodge. One leader will give a talk to everyone attending. After the general talk, the inmates are divided into groups of six to nine men at round tables with layleaders who lead discussions.

On the first day, 10 talks are given by the layleaders and five are presented by the pastors. The first talk is on ideals and is a low- key presentation by a layperson. Other talks focus on  grace, the body of Christ and the church, what it means to experience Christ and not being self-righteous.

“God leads us where to go from there,” Peters said. “They learn it is OK to love each other. People can care for each other in spite of what we have done.”

In Iowa, statistically inmates will reoffend 60 percent of the time when released. If they go through Brothers in Blue, they change their spirituality and that percentage drops to 15 percent.

Besides talks and sharing at tables, lots of music, Christian videos and Christian singers are presented during the event. All who attend are served prison food.

“We have an incredible group of guys who go to the Fort Dodge prison,” Peters said. “Indescribable things happen to the inmates and to those who come from the outside.”

“It is a wonderful experience for the inmates and for us,” said Ron Thomas of Inwood, Iowa.

Brothers in Blue is fashioned after the Cursillo movement that started in Spain and was brought to the United States in the 1950s. 

Some of the Cursillo movement leaders brought the program to Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, including a Roman Catholic priest, a Lutheran pastor and Gene Hermeier, also a pastor.

“I was there in 1974 at the first Brothers in Blue,” Hermeier said. 

“I was one of the three men who started it. We have since held 130 weekends in Iowa. There is now a form of Brothers in Blue in most states in the United States. Many churches of all denominations are involved. We are working to improve aftercare to help the men after they leave the program.”

The Cursillo method is a relaxing but full-participation program that includes talks, discussions, Holy Communion and group prayer. During the events, inmates and volunteers are asked to be patient with each other and open their hearts and minds to Christ by fully participating all weekend.

Thomas also attends the Springfield Correctional Center in Springfield, S.D., with a similar program to the one used in Fort Dodge. The program is slightly shorter as it begins on Friday and ends on Sunday.

“The Brothers in Blue is a wonderful program that makes a difference for the teams that go inside prisons and those inside the walls,” Thomas said. “Ninety one men attended the Fort Dodge program in December 2010. Eighteen men were baptized and 18 rededicated their lives. The warden says the inmates who attend Brothers in Blue have a good chance of not reoffending when they leave the prison.”

Brothers in Blue encourages inmates to find a support system such as a church. Most who do this do not return to prison after they have served their sentences.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of comfort who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Both team members and inmates have had experiences in their lives where they may have faced addictions, fears, anger and unforgiveness. 

There are many things in our lives that bring pain and are contrary to the will of God. Brothers in Blue is about men sharing Christ with one another.

Brothers in Blue is making a difference in the lives of inmates all over the country and in the lives of those who enter the walls and bring Christ to the inside.