Dr. Vance Drum

Vance was a Texas Department of Criminal Justice chaplain for 32 years (1985-2017), retiring as Director of Chaplaincy Operations. He worked for 27 years in the 2500-man maximum security Eastham Prison (“America’s Worst Prison”—Newsweek, 10/7/86). As Director of Chaplaincy Operations, he supervised 126 Texas chaplains in an agency responsible for ministry to 146,000 inmates and 35,000 employees.

Vance graduated (MTS) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MTS) in Massachusetts. His Doctor of Ministry is from Abilene Christian University in Texas. Undergraduate degrees (BS and AA) are from Murray State University (in Kentucky), and Florida College.

Vance is past president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association (2013-2017). He has presented numerous workshops at American Correctional Association conferences, some with Burl Cain and Dr. Kristi Miller. Vance has also served as the pastor of his country church in Texas from 1999 to the present.

Vance is available to assist with training for directors, wardens/superintendents and chaplains in the effective deployment of prison seminary graduates. He helped supervise Texas prison seminary program graduates, utilizing best practices and research in the field. He is also available to assist with general chaplaincy training, emphasizing chaplains’ constitutional and moral rehabilitation responsibilities. Vance is comfortable and competent with introducing the prison seminary model (PSM) in new states, and is conversant with the vital educational piece of the program. His passion is to see the PSM established in every state. He has seen the model work to transform prisons in his personal experience.