Family Upreach, Inc. (DBA: NewLife Behavior Ministries) started when in August 1984, Dr. H. M. Motsinger (an educator and family therapist in Dallas, Texas) joined a group of trained Christians meeting with offenders.

Over the next eighteen years Dr. Motsinger developed the first seven courses and the Children’s Edition of the NLB curriculum which is used in hundreds of jails and prisons in over forty states. Most of it is available in Spanish as well as English. Today, there are fifteen courses.

In 1994 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) encouraged the use of the NLB curriculum. In 1997, TDCJ honored NLBM with the Governor George Bush Award as the Best State Jail Program in Texas. Again, in 2018, NLBM was given Governor Greg Abbott’s “Restorative Justice” Award.

With support and guidance from Skillman Church of Christ in Dallas, Family Upreach, Inc. (NLBM), became a separate 501 (c) (3) nonprofit in 1988, functioning under its own Board of Trustees. It is supported by churches, individuals, businesses, foundations, and grants.

Impressed with the structure and results of the NLB curriculum, TDCJ officials requested an extension of its benefits to families of offenders. A pilot program was launched in 1993 at the Michael Unit with the help of Chaplain Bill Brewer. Wives were invited to participate with husbands in studies, integrating an essential component to an offender’s behavioral modification – the family unit. Thus, FamilyNet was added to the growing list of NLBM by-products. Today, FamilyNet has a multitude of shapes and forms to fit almost any local setting.

In 1988, Buck Griffith started Christians Against Substance Abuse (CASA) in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2000, NLBM combined efforts with CASA to magnify its influence on both sides of the bars. CASA is approved by TDCJ and later that year, the CASA course was added to the NLB curriculum. In July 2002, the NLBM board of trustees asked Buck Griffith to succeed Dr. Motsinger as President. The NLBM office in Lancaster was closed and combined with that of Kings Crossing Prison Ministries, 3833 S. Staples Street, Suite S-101, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411. Amazingly, NLBM has zero employees. Everyone is a volunteer, supported individually, or through local churches. This allows 100% of funds donated to go into the NLBM ministry.

The Founder of NLBM, Dr. H. M. Motsinger, has a worldwide vision and passion to see the curriculum taught throughout the world and translated into every language. Thus, Dr. Motsinger founded NewLife Behavior International (NLBI) in 2008 to expand beyond the borders of the USA. NLBI is a separate 501 (c) (3) with its independent Board of Trustees and central office in Dallas, Texas. Mike Biggers, is President today of NLBI while Dr. Motsinger currently leads an effort to put the NLB curriculum online – free to be studied by everyone – everywhere!