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Having a personal Bible is a very treasured possession for many people. This includes members of in Sioux Falls, S.D. That is why Bingo for Bibles has become an activity staple for the congregation that meets within the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Usually hosted twice per year, Nov. 9 was the most recent Bingo for Bibles event.

Scott Van Voorst, pastor at Cornerstone, said that this activity was initiated by a previous pastor and had stopped during the COVID pandemic, but “the guys on the inside shared how much God has used Bingo for Bibles in the past to make connections and get guys into the Bible,” so they decided to bring it back.

Inmates sign up for the event and they play traditional bingo, winning the opportunity to select a study Bible as they mark off a row. Six leather-bound study Bibles, provided by the Cornerstone staff, were prizes at the Nov. 9 event. A Cornerstone bingo night also includes snacks and soft drinks between rounds.

This isn’t the only way for an inmate at the South Dakota State pen to receive a Bible, but Van Voorst explained, “Within the prison system any exchange can be a part of a favors-based relationship, so the only way we can give away a valuable study Bible is if we do not control who ends up getting it or if we committed to buying one for everyone in the entire prison population regardless of what they were likely to do with it. Playing bingo makes it so that we can bring in a few of these expensive Bibles, since we do not control who gets one and therefore are not engaging in a favors-based relationship.”

Van Voorst said they have given away about 30 study Bibles through the bingo games as well as many paperback Bibles to whoever asks for one, each month. He estimates that they have given over 750 Bibles in total since 2021.

“Having a really nice Bible gets men excited about getting into it more,” Van Voorst said. “There have been times where men were new to the faith or in a season of backsliding or wrestling with doubt only to get serious about personal study again when they received a new study Bible.”

“It also becomes a tool for the guys to share the gospel,” Van Voorst said. “There is very little in the prison with more financial value than the Bibles we give away at Bingo for Bibles. Sharing about what they received or about others who received one becomes an example of a very valuable gift provided by someone else. While the analogy breaks down—because some could work with family and get a Bible and none of us could do that for our forgiveness of sins—the reality that most could never get something so nice without it being given (freely) parallels the gift Jesus gives us we could never earn.”

Cornerstone Prison Church was organized in 2013. Van Voorst is its fourth pastor, called in 2021. Part-time worship pastor Cory Grimm, ordained in the Reformed Church in America and pastor of Alliance of Reformed Churches-affiliated Christ Community Church in Iowa, and office and lay ministry support Gord and Jean Dyk, make up the rest of the church staff.