A Legacy of Hope: How Donors and Education are Transforming Lives through the Calvin Prison Initiative
Education has the power to transform lives, and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than within the walls of Michigan’s Handlon Correctional Facility. What began as a vision inspired by a visit to Angola Prison has, through the generosity of donors like Terry and Linda Vander Aa, blossomed into the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) - a program offering incarcerated men the opportunity to pursue a rigorous Christian liberal arts education. More than academics, the Calvin Prison Initiative provides hope, dignity, and purpose for those who had long believed their lives were defined by despair. Through this program, students are not only reshaping their own futures but also becoming leaders who renew their communities from the inside out.
The Calvin Prison Initiative and the Role of Terry and Linda Vander Aa
The Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) traces its roots to 2005, when Calvin Theological Seminary received donor funding to tour the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison. At that time, Angola had a reputation as one of the bloodiest prisons in America, but violence decreased significantly when a local seminary was granted permission to teach classes inside its walls. Seeing the transformative impact of education in that setting, representatives from Calvin Theological Seminary were inspired to replicate the model in Michigan.
This opportunity was made possible by donors Terry and Linda Vander Aa, recipients of Calvin Theological Seminary’s 2023 Legacy Award. With a long-time passion for prison ministry and reform, the Vander Aa’s generously covered the seminary’s 2005 trip to Angola. Their vision and generosity became the foundation for what would become the Calvin Prison Initiative. As President Emeritus Neal Plantinga observed, the Vander Aa’s consistently used their resources to help others thrive, including those behind prison walls. President Jul Medenblik echoes this, noting that CPI students often ask, “What more can I do?” - a mindset that reflects the heart of the Vander Aa’s own giving.
Over the next decade, with continued support from the Vander Aa’s and other key donors, plans took shape to launch CPI at Handlon Correctional Facility. In the Fall 2015 semester, the first cohort of incarcerated students began pursuing a Christian liberal arts education, with the goal of offering hope, dignity, and opportunity for real accomplishment. Each year since, 20–25 students from across Michigan’s prisons are transferred to Handlon to participate in CPI, studying English, psychology, history, communication, and other disciplines taught by faculty from Calvin University, Calvin Theological Seminary, and partner institutions in West Michigan.
Since its beginning, CPI has granted 83 Bachelor of Arts degrees in Faith and Community Leadership and Human Services, with 107 students currently enrolled. Graduates are emerging as agents of renewal both inside and outside prison walls—tutoring new students, serving as teaching assistants, and even becoming commissioned pastors in churches within the Michigan prison system.
Without the Vander Aa’s initiative, generosity, and commitment, this work would not exist today. Their faithful investment planted the seeds for a program that continues to shape lives and communities in powerful, lasting ways.
From the Calvin Prison Initiative to Calvin Theological Seminary
One graduate who has been impacted by the Calvin Prison Initiative and the legacy of Terry and Linda Vander Aa is Shawn England, 2022 graduate of the Calvin Prison Initiative. Now a Master of Theological Studies student at Calvin Theological Seminary, Shawn’s story is one of transformation, change, and a passion to serve others through his education.
During his time pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the Calvin Prison Initiative, Shawn became a follower of Jesus Christ, in no small part due to the Christian focus of the program’s curriculum. In addition to the witness of Christian faculty members, program staff, and fellow students, certain books and aspects of Reformed theology were critical to Shawn’s growth in faith. Neal Plantinga (President Emeritus, Calvin Theological Seminary) authored Engaging God’s World, which helped Shawn understand, “this is who God is when he speaks to me,” cementing his faith in concrete ways. Furthermore, aspects of the Reformed tradition and theology were regularly integrated into the curriculum: “It was the Reformed tradition that was present in the narrative… creation, fall, redemption, new creation. Every single class,” Shawn remarks.
Throughout his time in the Calvin Prison Initiative, Shawn’s faith, passion for education, and love for teaching grew by leaps and bounds. At the end of 2024, Shawn was released from prison–something he never expected. In early 2025, he enrolled as a student at Calvin Theological Seminary. His goal? To pursue additional training and education so he can return to teach at the Calvin Prison Initiative and other prison education programs.
Since enrolling at Calvin Theological Seminary, Shawn has experienced the challenges and joys of joining a new community. He remarks, “My reentry into society has been helped by both the church and Calvin Seminary. I come to Calvin Seminary and this is a place where I’m accepted and I belong, and I can feel like things are doable, manageable.”
Why the Calvin Prison Initiative Matters
Stories like Shawn England’s abound as the Calvin Prison Initiative continues to transform the lives of students, one course and semester at a time. Calvin Prison Initiative graduates are serving within the program and prison as mentors, tutors, and as commissioned pastors.
In September 2025, two Calvin Prison Initiative graduates–Mark Urban and Crisanto Escabalzeta–were ordained as Commissioned Pastors in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), serving Celebration Fellowship CRC. With the help of Calvin Theological Seminary and mentor Rev. Dave Beelen, both Mark and Crisanto completed the CRCNA’s commissioned pastor training. Celebration Fellowship Church serves inmates at Handlon Correctional Facility and Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, fulfilling God’s call to “visit the prisoner.” These newly-commissioned pastors will serve their congregations through worship planning, hosting Bible studies, and offering teaching and peer mentoring services to fellow inmates. They are ministering to their peers and sharing about the hope and transformation that’s possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
The ordination of Mark and Cristano demonstrates the heart and goal of the Calvin Prison Initiative: offering hope, dignity, and opportunity to those who are often overlooked by society.
Stories like those of Shawn, Mark, and Crisanto demonstrate the heart and goal of the Calvin Prison Initiative: offering hope, dignity, and opportunity to those who are often overlooked by society. Shawn remarks, “The work we continue to do through Calvin Theological Seminary not only changes people’s lives like mine… it changes the state. It has changed the very shape of the state of Michigan. This little institution has reached way beyond its walls.”
Conclusion
The story of the Calvin Prison Initiative demonstrates that lasting change and transformation is possible behind prison walls. What began in the Calvin Prison Initiative is now reaching other correctional facilities across the state of Michigan. What would it look like for you to create this lasting transformation and impact in your community?
Consider the incarcerated individuals in your own community - what would it look like to initiate conversations and begin an education program similar to the Calvin Prison Initiative?
If this specific ministry is not in your calling, what are the ways you can encourage those in your congregation to seek out their own ways of participating in God’s renewal in the world?
Collaborate with the dreamers and visionaries in your church, business, or school - who could bring to life the ideas that will have lasting transformation and impact?
We never fully know the ripples of our faithfulness, and that is part of the joy of participating in God’s mission in the world.
Learn more about the Calvin Prison Initiative by watching the documentary “Behind Our Walls,” available now on Prime Video.
