Kenya (MNN)—Many Christians would be angry at God if they found themselves unjustly arrested. Instead, former prisoner Lawrence says his faith is stronger because of it, according to Brian Kamstra of Crossroads Prison Ministries.
“Lawrence had recently become a Christian, and was still hanging around some of his old friends,” says Kamstra. “One of his friends borrowed his house, and when Lawrence came home, he found his friend in the house with three other women engaged in some illegal activities. And eventually the police came knocking on his door, and they accused Lawrence of also being engaged in that activity. And before you know it, Lawrence was sentenced to prison for a very long time.”
While in prison, Lawrence was introduced to Crossroads, an international ministry that connects prisoners with mentors in Christ-centered relationships so that lives, prisons, and churches are restored through the Gospel. Their program is utilized by ministry leaders in more than 20 countries around the world, providing leaders with resources, training, and support.
“He began going through all of our material, he began studying God’s word, and he found he grew in his faith,” says Kamstra. “I asked him, ‘Would your faith be where it is today if you hadn’t gone into prison?’ And he said, ‘No way.’”
Since then, Lawrence has received a presidential pardon.
“He is a barber in his own community. He has his own barber shop, and he gets to share the Gospel with everybody who sits in his barber chair right now.”
Unlikely friendships unfold when two people with completely different backgrounds exchange letters and study the Bible together. As they encourage each other, develop a friendship rooted in Christ, and apply Scripture to their lives, God begins to transform their hearts.
“I’ve been working at Crossroads Prison Ministries for about three years now, and Crossroads is probably one of the most impactful ministries that I’ve ever been involved in, ever,” says Kamstra, “and I’ve done a lot of International Ministries. But one of the great things about Crossroads is our ministry. Crossroads involves the local church. It involves mentors. It involves prisons that involve students.”
So how can we help Crossroads Prison Ministry?
“We have three things that we always tell people,” says Kamstra. “Please pray for our ministry. Pray for our students and pray for our mentors. The next thing is, you can become a mentor, whether you’re in in the United States or in another country. Go to CPministries.org. You can see a list of the countries that we’re already in. You can become a Crossroads mentor to somebody in prison. And finally, we could really use your financial support. That’s another way that you can contribute to our ministry, and that financial support helps us to expand and grow the ministry worldwide.”
Header image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.
