Mission of the Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry:
The Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry takes the gospel of Jesus Christ into the darkest of places in the Texas prison system through our bachelor degree program which educates men and women with long-term prison sentences. Graduates of the Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry are allowed to serve their peers as Field Ministers throughout the Texas prison system.
The Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian undergraduate college which accepts no state, federal, or tax-dollars of any kind from any agency or donor.
The Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry actively provides, as a no-cost service provider to TDCJ, the Field Ministers, their ongoing development, integrity, and funding.
Graduation rate:
Men (Instructional site: Memorial Prison Unit for Men):
| Academic Year | Number of Students at Orientation | Orientation Date | Class of | Graduation Date | Number of Graduates | Graduation Rate | Comments |
| 2021 | 152 (113 (Transfer and 39 Freshmen) | No graduates in 2021 due to Covid Recovery | |||||
| 2022 | 192 (113 Transfer students and 79 Freshmen and Sophomores) | No graduates in 2022 due to transfer student population | |||||
| 2023 | 38 | Transfer students, August 2021 | 2022 | December 6, 2023 | 32 | 84% | The Class of 2022 graduated in 2023 due to the Covid delay. |
| 2024 | 75 (Class of 2023 = 37; Class of 2024 = 38) | Transfer students, August 2021 | 2023; 2024 | Class of 2023 graduated July 17, 2024; Class of 2024 graduated December 4, 2024 | 64 (Class of 2023 = 29; Class of 2025 = 35) | 85% (Class of 2023 = 78%; Class of 2025 = 92%) | Two graduations in 2024 as planned for Transfer students |
| 2025 | 39 | August 19, 2021 | 2025 | December 3, 2025 | 26 | 67% | |
| As of December 2025 | 152 | 122 | 80% | TOTAL MEN |
Women (Instructional site: Hobby Prison Unit for Women):
| Academic Year | Number of Students at Orientation | Orientation Date | Class of | Graduation Date | Number of Graduates | Graduation Rate | Comments |
| 2025 | 34 | August 20, 2021 | 2025 | December 10, 2025 | 20 | 59% | Benchmark year |
| 2025 | 34 | August 20, 2025 | 2029 | December 2029 | – | – | |
| As of December 2025 | 34 | 20 | 59% | TOTAL WOMEN |
Total graduates with graduation rate:
| Academic Year | Number of Students at Orientation | Orientation Date | Class of | Graduation Date | Number of Graduates | Graduation Rate | Comments |
| 2023 | 38 | Transfer students, August 2021 | 2022 | December 6, 2023 | 32 | 84% | |
| 2024 | 75 | Transfer stduents, August 2021 | 2023, 2024 | July 17, 2024; December 4, 2024 | 64 | 85% | |
| 2025 | 74 | August 20, 2021 | 2025 | December 3, 2025 (Men); December 10, 2025 (Women) | 46 | 62% | Benchmark year |
| As of December 2025 | 186 | 142 | 76% | TOTAL |
Current number of students with rentention rate:
Men (Instructional site: Memorial Prison Unit for Men):
| Class of | Students at Orientation | Current Students | Student retention rate (%) | Comments |
| 2026 | 40 | 30 | 78% | |
| 2027 | 40 | 33 | 83% | |
| 2028 | 40 | 30 | 75% | |
| 2029 | 44 | 42 | 95% | |
| As of December 2025 | 164 | 135 | 82% | TOTAL (Men) |
Women (Instructional site: Hobby Prison Unit for Women):
| Class of | Students at Orientation | Current Students | Student retention rate (%) | Comments |
| 2029 | August 13, 2025 | |||
| As of December 2025 | 34 | 32 | 94% | TOTAL (Women) |
Total students with retention rate:
| Class of | Students at Orientation | Current Students | Student retention rate (%) | Comments |
| 2026 | 40 | 30 | 75% | |
| 2027 | 40 | 33 | 83% | |
| 2028 | 40 | 30 | 75% | |
| 2029 | 78 | 74 | 95% | |
| As of December 2025 | 198 | 167 | 84% | TOTAL (12/31/25) |
The Field Minister Job Description:
The official Dot Code of a Field Minister:
Field Minister Teams: Where are they now?
Because our graduate has a very long prison sentence, they do not go home. They are allowed to serve as Field Ministers in teams across the state of Texas in every prison in th Texas Department of Criminal Justice. We do not yet have teams in every prison inside of TDCJ, but with every graduation we grow closer to acheiving this goal. The map belwo includes the current locations of more than 55 Field Minister teams in TDCJ’s 100+ prisons.
Field Minister Graduation Photos
The beginning of Field Ministers as graduates from Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry occurred with the men’s Class of 2022.
2010-2021 The work of the Heart of Texas Foundation:
The Heart of Texas Foundation, a non-profit organization orginally chartered to serve the rural poor in the name of Jesus, was quickly exposed to the incarcerated men and women in Texas. The work of the Heart of Texas Foundation became completely dedicated to the creation and development of what would come to be known as the Field Minister. The Heart of Texas Foundation fully funded and provided leadership and support to the Field Ministers from their beginning in a meeting in Houston dating back to February 2010 through our growth into the college—the Heart of Texas Foundation College of Ministry. Our work, prior to 2021 was recognzied by Texas Governor Greg Abbott through a Texas Department of Criminal Justice Service Award on April 22, 2022. The picutres below are of all of the Field Ministers prior to our becoming a college, who we served, funded, and supported from 2010-2021. These men are still Field Ministers today though some have been released and several have gone on to be with the Lord.
