Prison is not something people usually volunteer for, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, especially at one of Texas’s largest maximumsecurity prisons like the James V. Allred Unit, but for George and Nancy Quin and Barry Bryan, volunteering was an easy ‘yes’ for these men and women of faith.
George and Nancy, early in their meeting at Fountain Gate Bible College in Plano in 1982, shared a heart to serve.
“It was always our goal as a couple to do (mission) ministry,” George said.
However, that path veered slightly after they got married, as they focused on raising their three boys and their day jobs. Nancy worked as an elementary school teacher for 24 years, and George was a Facilities Automation Administrator for Frito-Lay Headquarters for 29 years before retiring.
Despite the change in course, the George and Nancy remained actively involved at Midway Church and in other organizations, but they still desired to do ministry together. Nancy’s father, Dr. Joe Horn from West Texas, was an active member of his church, The Gideons International and the prison medical practice, which inspired the pair to volunteer.
“We saw Nancy’s parents do hands-on what we had never seen,” George said. “I mean, her dad was a doctor, pretty wealthy. He could have hung out at the country club and did, but not much. But what he didn’t do was drop the less fortunate and the needy.”
The two started serving in January 2010 at the Denton County Jail, both with the intent to change lives for the better through God’s words.
Nancy worked with the women struggling with addiction, and George got a firsthand look at the needs of the men.
“One day, we were in the car, and I just started writing up topics to study,” George said. “And I started looking at the overall problems that men have, and temper- anger was kind of a biggie. I put that at the top of my list and put about 20 other things. I never got to the others.”
Teaching at the Denton County jail showed George how big an issue domestic violence is in our society. This inspired him to publish his first book, “Taking Anger Seriously, A Divine Answer for Human Anger,” in 2015.
There was only one way for George to create and teach this course: through his faith.
“God is the answer for anger,” George said. “He created us in His image. He gets angry. He knows why we get angry. We need Him to lead us. And we need all of His counsel.”
Creating the book and reading the Bible not only helped the men with their anger but also helped George.
“There was a time I was hanging on to this, what I was studying for my dear life, because of my emotions, what I was going through,” George said. “And God saw fit, just like he saw fit for Joseph to go into prison for so many years, humble him. God saw fit to allow me to go through some excruciating times that I did not enjoy. But it’s where I learned.”
Then, in 2019, the couple received exciting news: their course had been approved by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Rehabilitative Programs Division to be taught in the faith-based dorms.
Things continued to pick up, and soon they were granted permission to create a video course of his lessons and publish both the courses and his book on Pando, a faith-based app designed specifically for prisoners to watch content on their tablets.
Within the first four days, 18,000 men had viewed the program.
George recollected the reception they received after the material became available on Pando.
“This was our dream, and it’s just unfolding, and it’s happened,” George said.
Then, about a year ago, Bryan, a new member of Midway Church, a retiree serving in the Air Force for 30 years and a contractor for 20, was presented with a form with a list of volunteer options, one of which was the prison.
“I never thought about prison, and I never thought about ministry,” Bryan said. “And about 30 seconds later, I looked down at my sheet, and that box was filled.”
After a couple of months had passed, Bryan was contacted by George to learn how to get involved, and for him, just like the Quins, it was life-changing not only for the inmates but for him as well.
“To watch these guys come in and transform themselves, it’s transformative for us,” Bryan said. “You see, Christ working in them.”
Now he’s involved in both the Faith-Based Dorms and the Kairos Prison Ministry Program. Eventually, Byran was inspired to create his own program titled, “Romans: Salvation for Sinners.”
Through volunteering, Bryan and the Quins witnessed faith in action several times, but one memory that stood out for George hit close to home.
In 2019, while visiting prisoners at the Formby State Jail in Plainview, Texas, George shared a story about his father-in-law.
In a chance encounter, an inmate named Tirso recognized him, and Quin shared the exchange.
“‘… Your father-in-law told me about Jesus, and he prayed for me,’” he said, “‘but I didn’t want to have nothing to do with it.’” George said that was in 2007.
“‘But I’m back,’” he said. “‘Today, I accept Jesus.’ So, Tirso was one of those men my father-in-law had prayed for 12 years before, and then he accepted Christ,” George said with tears in his eyes.
Similarly to Tirso, the positive impacts the courses have had on the men are shared in the form of handwritten letters from the prisoners to the Quins, detailing how the course has restored their faith or changed their life for the better.
“… I have happy tears for I rejoice in my new walk with Christ,” one inmate wrote.
For the Quins, these testimonies represent more than a thank you; it was a sign of something bigger.
“God is building the church within prison,” George said. “It’s incredible.”
To learn more about how to get involved or more about the program, email [email protected].
