Papua New Guinea (MNN) — Dr. David Schuringa, President of the Crossroad Bible Institute, shared an unusual report from CBI Australia.
"What they are finding is something that sounds almost unbelievable," Schuringa stated. "They're finding a zero recidivism rate, meaning that those who have taken the CBI program while incarcerated are not coming back!"
Prison officials in Papua New Guinea have seen the benefits of CBI's prison ministry and want to extend those benefits to other institutions, said CBI Australia fieldworker Terry West.
"The senior prison officials…actually begged me to have the program in all of the prisons," said West, who recently visited women inmates in Papua New Guinea's Bomana Prison.
About half of the women at Bomana have been convicted of murder. A senior official told West that since CBI courses were introduced in Bomana, the prison population had decreased, no prisoners had attempted to escape, and no released CBI students had reoffended.
"We have to understand that these inmates have nothing," he explained. "CBI came to Bomana and gave them hope."
Schuringa said the CBI program holds more than spiritual value. All CBI graduates have been successful in their parole applications and many find full-time employment upon leaving the prison.
"CBI certificates are highly valued by the parole boards," said Schuringa. "When they see that they've completed these CBI lessons, they say, 'Wow, these folks are serious about re-entry.' But not only that, these certificates are getting them jobs.
"CBI has become an all-purpose re-entry program, helping people change their lives while they're in prison, and paving the way for their life on the outside."
With CBI Australia growing and discipling more and more inmates in the South Pacific, Schuringa spoke of God's favor.
"This is something that's being done by the average person in the pew," he said. "[They're] a missionary in their own church, in their own home.
"That is why God is blessing the socks off it, because it is the Church at work."
There are currently 156 students in Papua New Guinea, and their lessons are corrected by 300 volunteers from CBI Australia. The ministry hopes to extend their work to a prison in the city of Lae soon.
They don't need donations to take this next step.
"What we need is prayer," Schuringa stated. "Those of you who are in that part of the world, if you love God's Word [and] have a heart for hurting people, you can be an instructor."
Click here to visit the CBI Australia Web site. Pray for prisoners and their families in Papua New Guinea and throughout the world.
"Pray that hearts can be changed, that lives can be changed, that cycles of despair and decline can be broken," requested Schuringa. "Prayer can be very specific, and it's the powerhouse for the ministry."
