COOKEVILLE — Jail feels like limbo for some. It is a place of saving grace for others. It was for Torie McCord
A married mother of three, McCord had been leading what looked like an ordinary suburban life. But underneath, she was struggling with alcoholism.
“You wouldn’t have known that about me. I hid it,” she said. “I was a functioning alcoholic.”
The addiction carried on for years — until she received two DUIs and was sentenced to nearly a year in the Putnam County Jail. By completing classes and program requirements, she was released in five months.
Her world had been turned upside down, but jail gave her something she hadn’t expected: time, structure, and a path to recovery through Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered that First Baptist Church Cookeville has facilitated inside the jail for more than a decade.
The church supports the program by funding materials like books and Bibles and by providing a welcoming community for participants after their release.
Over the years, they’ve seen it bear real fruit. Most recently, on May 2, 30 inmates were baptized. Isaac Nickels, assistant to Executive Pastor Mike Head, had the honor of leading his first baptism service that day and administering the Lord’s Supper.
“The inmates were genuinely excited,” he said. “You could just see it on their faces — they were so determined to celebrate that moment. It felt very familial, even as an outsider who had never been in that community before.”
Program pods
Part of what makes the Putnam County Jail’s approach distinctive is a housing system called “program pods,” developed by Lt. Matt Stinnett. Rather than returning to isolated cells between classes, participants live together in an open room with communal bunks, which fosters accountability and keeps the work of recovery going between sessions.
“When you talk about doing the lessons during the week, now that they’re in a program pod, they get together as a group and work on them,” said Randy Griggs, who leads the men’s CR group. “Before, you were relying on them to do it alone in a cell. It’s a lot better.”
For McCord, the difference was striking.
“You literally are sitting or laying in your bunk for hours and hours and then your free time you maybe have three or four other women out with you,” she said. “Being in the program pod and having the classes — it’s a whole different ball game.”
Participants in the pod have access to common areas around the clock, which Morgan Abston, public information officer for the Putnam County Jail, described as a meaningful incentive.
“Getting into the program pod gives you hope,” McCord said.
Backbone of faith
The program is explicitly faith-based, and jail officials say that distinction matters. According to Abston, 85% of the jail’s population is incarcerated due to illegal drugs, whether directly or indirectly.
“If you don’t have something with a backbone of faith, your recidivism rate is statistically higher,” Abston said.
Sheriff Steve Farris has made faith-based programming a priority inside the facility.
“Accountability will always come first, but I strongly believe rehabilitation has to be part of the process as well,” Farris said. “When inmates are willing to take steps toward changing their lives through programs like Celebrate Recovery and through their faith, we want to support those efforts.”
That support is visible in how the jail operates. Stinnett, who developed the program pod housing system, said Celebrate Recovery is the longest-running program the jail has offered — and he hopes it stays that way.
“I personally hope it lasts as long as the buildings stand,” he said.
Stinnett added that through weekly visits from instructors and volunteers, inmates gain more than recovery tools — they build lasting relationships and connect with resources they’ll need upon release.
The men’s group meets Mondays under Griggs’ leadership, while Gloria Vick leads the women’s group on Wednesdays. Each group has about a dozen participants at a time, completing two lessons per week over roughly six months.
Vick, who came to CR herself after leaving a destructive marriage, said the program’s power lies in its ability to address what’s really going on beneath the surface.
“Celebrate Recovery is for anyone with hurts, hangups, and bad habits,” she said. “When you realize how healing it is for you, you want others to be able to have that as well.”
But that healing rarely comes quickly. McCord recalled that early sessions were often guarded.
“It’s a lot of just saying what you think your instructors want to hear,” she said. “I’m not going to talk about my trauma. But by the end, it’s a different story.”
Vick said the turning point typically comes when participants begin to confront childhood trauma — particularly sexual abuse. (See story story, page 9).
“It’s not the drugs and alcohol,” she said. “It’s the trauma from childhood that we didn’t address very well for many years. The guilt and the shame — it eats them alive.”
The program’s moral inventory component, which Vick describes as “cleaning out your closets,” is often the most difficult stretch.
“They have suppressed so much,” she said. “The book presents the plan of salvation around lesson four, but the moral inventory is where the real work begins.”
What comes after
Despite the program’s impact inside the jail, Griggs is candid about what participants face upon release: no transportation, unstable housing, few employment prospects, and mounting fines that can quickly lead back to re-offending.
“As a society as a whole, we set every one of them up for failure,” he said.
First Baptist tries to bridge some of those gaps — paying for graduates’ IDs and birth certificates, offering rides from the jail, and helping connect people to housing.
For McCord, that support extended well beyond her release date.
“They came to my wedding,” she said. “They came to church with me when I first got out.”
McCord’s own breakthrough came three weeks into her sentence, on a night she describes as a surrender.
“I was like, ‘God, I’m done. Take this from me. I don’t know what my future looks like, but just take it all,’” she recalled. Within an hour, she was transferred to the program pod — far sooner than most participants wait.
“I was all in from that moment,” she said. “Okay, God, I hear you. Let’s go.”
Today, she describes her faith not as a coping mechanism but as a relationship.
“I’m in love with the Lord, and I know who I am in the Lord,” McCord said. B&R
Testimonies from Jail
The following testimonies are from women who recently completed the Celebrate Recovery program at the Putnam County Jail, facilitated by First Baptist Church Cookeville.
I learn more every day. God has shown up and shown out, showing me more every day and even in my dreams. This class is helping me grasp that new inner peace and hope. Thank you ladies. I’m blessed that God put me in jail to see Him closer and these ladies are sent from above. Thank you so very much.
— Tiffany M.
I have been in and out of addiction and jail for the past 25 years. I have tried several rehabs, tried quitting on my own; it never worked. Since taking this class and really applying the tools that I am learning, my life has changed 100%. Not just my life, but my thinking, my outlook, everything! I have a peace that I never had before. A love for myself and others that I have never known before, and a future that I’m looking forward to.
— Kendra P.
I’m 42 and got sentenced to an eight-year sentence. I was broken, on drugs, and lost when I came to jail. Since I’ve been in jail, I’ve rededicated my life to God. Celebrate Recovery has helped me so much. If not for this class, I would not be where I am today. I’ve been baptized, gave my life to God, stopped cussing and living for God.
— Liz B.
I’ve been incarcerated several times since I was 18. I’m 38 and doing a 20-year sentence. Coming to jail this time saved my life because I was on drugs so bad I was ready to take my life. Since being in jail and taking Celebrate Recovery, I’ve found myself and God.
— Keshia S.
Since I’ve been in Celebrate Recovery, I’ve learned a lot about myself and things I need to work on. Coming to jail this time it really saved my life. I never really thought about straightening up till now and I thank God for Celebrate Recovery class.
— Brandy A.
Celebrate Recovery in jail has given me peace I’ve never had. Now I’m seeking God in everything I do. There is so much to be thankful for in life, and Celebrate Recovery helped me find the good in all things.
— Cheynne P.
Celebrate Recovery has changed my life. I have found God and now I know a love I never knew existed! I am at peace now and look forward to what God has in store for me in the future!
— Nicole C.
When I came here, I was in a very dark place. I was alone and felt abandoned by everyone I know. Six months later, I have been feeling more love and peace than I have in a long time. I owe so much to these wonderful women who come in and teach us every week in Celebrate Recovery. … I don’t feel judged. These women are the most patient, loving, and understanding people I’ve ever met, and it has changed my life. I know now I am not alone. I have met a forever family.
— Stefanie B.
Celebrate Recovery SAVED MY LIFE! I am blessed and grateful for the teachers and this class. Thank you!
— Marika F.