That is what Crossroad Bible Institute set out to do several years ago in Guatemala. They started Bible studies among incarcerated gang members in Guatemala. But eventually that opportunity closed, and Crossroad began to look for new ways to share Christ in Guatemala prisons.

(Photo courtesy of Crossroad Bible Institute)

Then they met Pastor Byron Aguilar, chaplain to the police department, prison guards, and the National Guard.

Crossroad’s International Director Cynthia Williams says, “As soon as [Pastor Byron] learned about it, he was really excited. He said, ‘This is exactly what we’ve been looking for, but would you be willing to allow us to use it with the prison guards rather than just the prisoners themselves?’”

Williams shares, “When this concept was presented with us, we thought this is a great opportunity to work with those who have a direct impact on prisoners themselves. What better way to create a better environment — an environment where God can be presented and Christ can be lived out — than to equip those working with prisoners with Christ-centered leadership principles and the Gospel itself? So that is exactly what we’re doing.”

The program has expanded since its inauguration. In addition to Pastor Byron’s chaplain work, he has also taken the role of the Ministry Center Director in Guatemala for Crossroad. They currently have 150 Guatemalan students — from police to prison guards — being mentored by 25 instructors.

(Image courtesy of Crossroad Bible Institute)

Last month, students from the department of correction graduated from Crossroad’s Great Truths of the Bible course. They celebrated with diplomas and cake. Crossroad has another group getting ready to graduate in November from their Survey of the Bible course.

“We are definitely seeing lives changed, and I can only imagine that is having an impact on the workplace itself, and that is really the goal. Pastor Byron comments often that the attitudes change, the focus changes, they see the prisoners differently, they’re coming at it from a Christ-centered view, which is just a completely different view than what society views them as.”

Besides God’s Word impacting the police and prison guards’ approach in their work, it’s also impacting their lives at home.

“As they do these lessons in their homes, they’re bringing their families into it as well. So it’s affecting their family time, their relationships with their spouses and their children. There’s just a broad sense of impact.”

Crossroad’s desire is to see the program expand across the country. They’re also hoping to launch the Bible study courses among prisoners again as well.

Williams says there is a need for support in the ministry: “Pastor Byron has shared with me that most of what he does, he does out of his own pocket. And that has been a tremendous strain on him and his family. So he does need funding for all of the work he is doing, the travel he does to all of these different locations, and what it takes to really implement the program.”

If you’d like to give to Crossroad Bible Institute’s international program in Guatemala, you can click here to give online, or give them a call at 616-530-1300.

And, above all, please pray for the Gospel to permeate Guatemala prisons through the prison guards and police who are saturating themselves with Christ.

(Photo courtesy of CBI)

You may know of Crossroad Bible Institutes’ prison ministry in the United States, but did you know they’re in critical countries like Malaysia too?

Crossroad’s International Director Cynthia Williams was just in Malaysia visiting their ministry partners throughout Southeast Asia.

“The purpose of the trip was really to connect with our directors there and our ministry team, to get a better understanding of the way the ministry functions, to also connect with the volunteers that are such an integral part of what we do, and really get some feet on the ground and some eyes on what the Lord is doing there.”

For what exactly their ministry does, Williams explains, “Crossroad Bible Institute is a ministry that focuses on bringing Christ through Bible study and discipleship to inmates in prisons, and we are doing this around the world. It’s a very interesting combination of the prisoner component and the church component, bringing believers in connection with prisoners to bring discipleship and spiritual growth and really an understanding of who Christ is so they can grow in their faith.”

(Photo courtesy of CBI)

That element of integrating Christian volunteers with prison ministry is really a key component to Crossroad’s outreach.

“It’s an enriching process for both the prisoner of course, and their spiritual lives, as well as church members who come alongside to mentor and disciple and walk alongside the prisoners in this process.”

Crossroad Bible Institute has partner ministries throughout several countries in addition to Malaysia, like Singapore, Ghana, South Africa, Colombia, and Nicaragua. They are also currently investigating possible work in the Philippines as well.

In a prison ministry that spans across countries, ethnicities, and cultures, Williams says there is still one connecting thread of truth with each of the inmates they work with — something that is true in each of our lives.

“The need for Christ to come in to change their life is really the essential component, and that is true of course around the world.”

While Crossroad instructors and volunteers work with students in the prison system, they also maintain relationships and ministry even after those individuals have been released. In Malaysia, there are halfway houses they work through to continue discipleship and help with the societal transition.

Williams shares, “It was very encouraging to visit a lot of these halfway houses and talk with the leaders there as well as our students and to see the impact it has on their lives. When they are engaged actively in this faith-based program and the Bible study component, the discipleship component, that’s where you see a much greater decrease in going back to drug and alcohol abuse, and sort of struggling with this in an ongoing way. That cycle is broken.

“I often say if you want to be a part of ministry that is life changing, this is definitely one because all of the stories and lives are radically different.”

One student’s testimony was shared during Williams stops in Southeast Asia. It’s just one moving example of lives changed by Jesus Christ through their prison ministry.

“He was telling about how he continually relapsed into drugs, and had been back and forth into the system until he finally connected with Crossroad. And he was actually at that time working at the halfway house, because he felt so strongly the need to stay connected to the Lord and Christian community and the Bible studies. His life is just a completely different life than what he was before.”

(Photo courtesy of CBI)

Prison ministry really is a unique niche of outreach in the evangelism world, but something very close to God’s heart, who desires spiritual freedom for those locked in darkness.

Williams says this is their current prayer need at Crossroad Bible Institute:

“Please pray for our directors and their ministry teams. This is not an easy ministry, as I’m sure you can understand. It takes a very special calling to really connect at this level with those that are behind bars and not everyone is comfortable doing this. So the people that the Lord calls into this ministry are uniquely equipped to do this but really often face a lot of discouragement and difficulty…. It’s definitely important that they receive the strength and the encouragement that they need to continue on.”

Click here to learn more about Crossroad Bible Institute and ways you can get involved in their prison ministry!

As this population increases, Crossroad Bible Institute
has found that the number of Spanish-speaking inmates has increased exponentially, now constituting
about 15 percent of people in the national prison system.

Cynthia Williams of CBI said, "We've noticed that the
prison population can kind of be divided into two groups almost equally, with
over half of those being incarcerated for sort of standard crimes, the other
half for violations of immigration laws."

Of the illegal immigrates captured and placed in prison, 80
percent of them are Hispanic.

Realizing this great need, CBI developed a Spanish version
of their curriculum in 2002, which considers the unique challenges facing this
demographic.

For Spanish-speaking prisoners who committed a "standard
crime," CBI addresses issues such as regret and guilt, like they would any
other person serving time for robbery, assault or murder.

But for illegal immigrants, CBI addresses the unique issues
these individuals may encounter. Williams said, "Those incarcerated for
being undocumented immigrants also face issues of separation from their
families; concern for their family's well-being, perhaps in their home
countries; [and] a lot of anxiety over their future. We find that they really
have a lack of support from the outside while they're serving their time here
in the U.S. while they are waiting to be deported or even sentenced that …
produces a real significant sense of isolation."

If they choose to enroll in CBI's curriculum, they find
Christ's love and how He can deliver them from feelings of anxiety and
isolation.

Williams shared one student's excitement: "I am very happy. I feel a great joy every time I receive a corrected lesson and a
comment, and even more the letters from the instructors. I keep them to show
my children and other people that I'm part of a great family. I ask that you
never leave this beautiful ministry to which God has called you. You can truly
imagine the effect the letters of encouragement have on us. It gives us the encouragement
that we so need in this horrible place, where so many of us have been abandoned
by our families and where we have so little value to society."

Yet, with this great response and need, there is a shortage of
instructors. "We're in real significant need of more instructors to be
able to accommodate this continual growth. We're asking the Lord to bring
forward people who have a heart, not only for prison ministry–looking at these
people not as people to be forgotten and thrown away, but people who really
need the Gospel and to know Christ and experience His love–especially [those] who
have a burden for Hispanic brothers and sisters in prison," Williams said.

Instructors must be able to speak Spanish well. Interested
parties can call CBI at (800)668-2450, e-mail at mail@crossroadbible.org, or
visit their Web site. Training takes place at your home.