Australia (MNN) — When someone mentions Australia, it immediately conjures up pictures of kangaroos, gum trees, and the Outback. However, stories like Jack’s sounds all too familiar for Crossroad Bible Institute.
Crossroad Bible Institute gives churches a way to minister to men in women in prisons around the world. From Australia to Zambia, incarcerated men and women like Jack make their way through a free Bible study, and instructors correct the lessons and return them, adding a letter of encouragement to the package.
Jack encountered Crossroad while in a Queensland prison. He had grown up around drugs, violence, and pain, and at 11 years old he left home because of the strife between his parents. He went back to live with his mother at 13 when they finally separated, but he left when his father returned and had a heated argument with Jack’s mother that climaxed with his father shooting himself. Jack witnessed the entire thing.
Jack turned to crime–he only life he knew–even at a young age. Crime, drugs, and avoiding the police were part of every day, but eventually he was caught by local authorities.
(Photo courtesy Crossroads Bible Institute)
Prison wasn’t an upgrade. The social system inside the prison he was in was controlled by the biggest and strongest, who dished out their own idea of justice on anyone who got in their way.
One day, Jack was sick of it. He was at the lowest class of the social system, and all he knew was pain and suffering. That day, he met a chaplain.
For the first time, Jack heard about God and the sacrifice of His one and only Son. He received a Crossroad brochure, and what he read impressed and confused him. Jack wanted to know more about the lessons mentioned in the brochure, and the chaplain gladly introduced him to the program.
Now Jack has constant contact with an instructor and is eager to learn as much as possible about the gospel, and he’s not alone. Over a thousand students are being disciple by Crossroad Bible Institute in Australia alone, with about 30,000 students participating worldwide.
If you’re interested in helping Crossroad reach men and women in prison, find more information here.
