The Men Around the Fire

“There’s a desire for men to speak into boys’ lives there, and so we have what we call Men Around the Fire,” describes Greg Yoder of Christian World Outreach. “What we found is many of these men were raised by single moms, and so they know what these boys are going through.”

Men Around the Fire provides opportunities for the mentors to be in community with each other and open up about their own experiences, so they can process the challenges they grew up with and be better equipped to mentor others.

“We provide a time for them to come together, so that they can look back again, telling their story to each other—time to just relate to each other and see that they’re not the only one out there who’s had to deal with being raised by a single mom—and those times are very valuable.”

These mentors provide the boys with a healthy example of someone who has lived through what they’re going through and overcome similar challenges.

A mentor sits with a young boy.

“They can relate to an older man who can speak into their lives, share how God has changed their life,” says Yoder. “The key for us is being able to share the Gospel and share that, yeah, they may have had an earthly father who abandoned them and didn’t provide for them, but there is someone who loves them enough to give their Son up—to share that Gospel story, so that they know who Jesus is, they know who God is, and they can relate to him as a heavenly Father. Hearing from an older man who has gone through that and loves the Lord can be very powerful and impactful.”

It’s costs 90 dollars to send a boy to a three-day camp through this ministry. Pray that these mentors would continue to grow as men of God, so they can best invest in the young men they’re leading, and that God would continue to open doors and provide staff for this ministry.

Photos courtesy of Christian World Outreach.

“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.

“When you’re in the early years with young children as a stay-at-home mom, it can definitely be isolating [and] sometimes not as mentally stimulating as I was used to,” says Arijaan.

Arijaan’s own mother encouraged her to look into becoming a mentor with Crossroads Prison Ministries. It’s a unique ministry opportunity from home where Christian mentors correspond with Crossroads Bible study students in prison through writing letters.

“To take on a ministry that I could do from home and really see the impact and believe in it was so exciting for me!” she shares.

Arijaan Norwood and her family. (Photo courtesy of Arijaan Norwood with Crossroads Prison Ministries)

Now, as a Crossroads mentor, Arijaan not only engages with inmates through Bible study but also sees the spiritual impact on her own family.

Arijaan shares, “My kids see me working on the lesson or writing the letter [and] they’ll ask about what I’m doing. I love sharing with them about God’s heart for those who are in prison and the role that we can play. We pray for them together.

“Another positive impact I would say is on my marriage, kind of unexpectedly. But there are times where my mentee will write something that I’m not sure how to respond to. I’ll bring it up with my husband and we’ll talk it through, and it just brings about deeper conversation than just the day-to-day conversations.”

Through prison mentorship, Arijaan has found a tangible way to connect with the Great Commission and witness God’s movement — both in her life and in the lives of others.

She says, “It’s definitely worth it to invest into the lives of not just those that you see right in front of you, but to gain that eternal perspective as you’re reaching out to all sorts of people that God has a heart for.”

If you or someone you know may be interested in becoming a Bible study mentor with Crossroads, Arijaan encourages, “It’s definitely a step of faith, and it’s easy to think that you don’t have time. I will say that it does take discipline to set aside really just about an hour a week, so it’s not long. But it’s really mentally and spiritually engaging.”

Learn more about becoming a mentor with Crossroads!

Header stock photo courtesy of Sixteen Miles Out/Unsplash.

The catalyst for this transformation is Crossroads Prison Ministries’ mentor program.

“We connect mentors from churches with our students in prisons, and they correspond back and forth with each other through letters and our Bible study lessons,” explains Brian Kamstra, Crossroads’ Director of International Ministries.

During a recent visit to Langata Women’s Prison, Kamstra and his team witnessed firsthand how the Holy Spirit is moving. “That was just a very, very touching time for us,” he shares. “We spent time worshiping with the women and learning some of their stories. A couple of students shared how going through the Crossroads lessons has transformed their lives.”

One moment stood out to Kamstra. “I looked down in front of me, and there was a Bible sitting on the chair. A woman had written on the pages of her Bible — the word ‘blessed.’ As I looked at that woman, we were in our time of worship and she was just singing at the top of her lungs.

“How ironic to see the word ‘blessed’ on her Bible when she’s locked up in this prison, but probably is more free than she has ever been through learning more about Jesus and the life transformation she has gone through.”

Jane from the Langata Women’s Prison in Kenya. (Photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

The reality of life in Kenyan prisons is sobering. Overcrowding is a massive issue, partly because more than half of incarcerated individuals are still awaiting trial — sometimes for over a year.

Kamstra says, “One of the reasons why women are going into prison is because of fighting or domestic violence issues.” He describes tragic situations where a woman, defending herself against an abusive partner, might unintentionally cause harm and find herself imprisoned.

Crossroads is a lifeline for many women at Langata. One inmate, Jane, shared how the lessons sustain her. “She said, ‘When you’re in prison, you have to forgive. I have to forgive my neighbor…because I have to live with that person.'”

Through Bible study, women are learning about their identity in Christ.

“Those are the things that our ministry is all about,” Kamstra says. “The Crossroads lessons have helped people understand forgiveness, understand that they’re a child of God, understand that they are loved, understand that a mentor cares for them, [and] understand that there are churches out there that want to be involved and engaged in prison ministry.”

Crossroads carries out ministry to prisons in Kenya and four other African countries. You can advance this critical Gospel outreach by supporting Crossroads at their website.

Header photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

Pastor Hiram Vega of Chase Oaks Church explains, “When people hear about going into prison or prison ministry, they think, ‘Oh, it may take a lot of time.’ Or ‘I cannot travel…. How do I get into a prison?’ Fears combined with ignorance, it’s a lot of trouble.

“But in this case…anybody could do it because anybody who is a Christian who knows how to read and write could be a mentor. I was excited about the possibility of opening up something that my church could do, and we could serve, at the same time, our community — which is Latinos or Spanish-speaking people.”

Crossroads often faces a shortage of Spanish-speaking mentors. They currently have a 4.5-week backlog of Bible studies from Spanish-speaking prisoners waiting for a letter from a mentor.

One-year celebration of prison ministry partnership between Crossroads and Chase Oaks Church. (Photo courtesy of Pastor Hiram Vega)

Pastor Vega urges more Christians, especially Spanish speakers, to become mentors with Crossroads and experience the mutual blessing of prison ministry.

“From the mentor’s perspective, the Bible says it’s better to give than to receive. So whenever they give encouragement, they get encouraged back!”

What about you? Is God calling you to write letters with prisoners and share Christ’s love?

Spanish speakers can learn more about becoming a Crossroads mentor here! For English, click here.

Pastor Vega says, “My encouragement will be the same as [the Bible’s] encouragement: Remember those in prison as if you were in prison alongside them.”

Header photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

Pastor Hiram Vega with one of the “founding” mentors. (Photo courtesy of Pastor Hiram Vega)

The congregation at Chase Oaks Church didn’t just catch the vision for prison ministry — they ran with it.

Today, 19 people from Chase Oaks Church are enrolled (either actively or on-hold) as Spanish-speaking mentors with Crossroads, and a total of 41 church members have been involved over the past year.

Pastor Vega says they recently marked the one-year anniversary of prison ministry with Crossroads by throwing a party for the mentors. At the celebration, they honored “founding” mentors with diplomas and a small gift—a nice pen for writing more letters to men and women in prison.

Pastor Vega says, “When we celebrated and we shared what we were doing for a year, people got excited and five people decided to join the ministry right then!”

The mentors at Chase Oaks Church are big on encouraging one another with Gospel wins. They share testimonials and stories of how they see the Lord working in the hearts of men and women they correspond with in prison.

Pastor Vega emphasizes that prayer is another key foundation of the ministry. “Whenever somebody presents a prayer request, we have a group chat. They share a prayer request, and we all pray. So it’s like we are being reminded of the difference we can make, not just answering the letter but praying for them.

(Photo courtesy of Pastor Hiram Vega)

“It’s a circle. We get an answer [from a prisoner], we pray, and then we see the difference in our lives too. So we get enriched both ways.”

Praise God for one year of Gospel prison ministry at Chase Oaks Church! Pray for more mentors, especially Spanish-speaking mentors, to join Crossroads.

Learn more about becoming a mentor with Crossroads here.

Header photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

Up until 1994, South Africa had a long history of institutionalized racial segregation. Last month, the nation celebrated the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid, Freedom Day, but long-term effects of that era linger. Those effects include high rates of crime, incarceration, and fatherlessness. 

Men Molding Men camp (Photo courtesy of CWO)

That’s why several years ago, a few South African single moms began meeting to encourage one another. Today it’s a ministry of Christian World Outreach called Single Moms Raising Sons. 

Greg Yoder with CWO says, “We’re working with single moms, helping them know who they are in their faith, their identity with Christ, so that they can deal with being single moms and raising sons — because they’re not men, and there’s just a difference there with fathers relating to their sons and mothers relating to their sons.” 

Moms gather for Bible studies. Their boys attend camps twice a year, where they are mentored and discipled. They learn about their heavenly Father who won’t abandon them. 

“I think that’s the key thing for them, helping them build characteristics that they can grow to be young men that serve the Lord and know who they are,” Yoder says.

A team from the U.S. will be in South Africa from May 17 to the end of the month, participating in the ministry to moms and boys. Pray they will be a true encouragement to the staff, who are passionate about this ministry but are being stretched thin. 

“There’s a lot of people they want to reach and a lot of people who want to be reached. So it’s an exciting time as a ministry grows, but also a difficult time as we grow too,” says Yoder. 

Another way you can come alongside families in South Africa is through financial partnership. 

Single Moms Raising Sons ministry with CWO. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

“We need support for this ministry as we create Bible studies, print the Bible studies, as we have our camps,” says Yoder. 

To give, click the Donate button on CWO’s website and choose the “SMRS – South Africa” fund. From there, you can select a sub-fund and sponsor a Bible study group, Bible study printing and translations, teams, or a boy going to a Men Molding Men camp. A gift of $90 sends one boy to camp!

Header photo is of Thembi Myeni, co-founder of the Single Moms Raising Sons ministries, who says the ministry was born out of love for her sons and a need for the Father to be in her son’s lives and her life. Photo and caption courtesy of Christian World Outreach.

A3 (formerly Asian Access) develops Christian leaders by creating learning communities that encourage and build them up together.

Joe Handley with A3 shares about a recent trip to an undisclosed country in North Africa. “One of the leaders came up to us and said, ‘I have no mentors.’ They are a first-generation Christian that has been a pastor for at least a decade, and there’s no one speaking into their life.”

Discipleship is a common desire among leaders, and one which A3 seeks to meet.

Photo courtesy of A3.

“When we’re going into a new country, we start to [ask] ‘Who are those first-generation leaders? Who are the leaders of the day that are impacting the church in that region, and what is it they need?'” says Handley.

Oftentimes, the biggest need is for friends — or in other words, “Barnabas” and “Paul” relationships. 

“We try to cultivate an environment where they become Barnabases to each other. Peer to peer mentoring,” says Handley.

“The added dimension is the faculty we recruit. On the front end, they’re all outsiders. Over time, the local leaders become at least half the faculty. But when it starts, you have to rely on these outsiders who are those seasoned veteran leaders that have years of experience in disciple-making, in mentoring and equipping others.”

In A3 cohorts, participants can build peer-to-peer relationships and connect with faculty with years of disciple-making experience. As they are built up, they are then better able to strengthen the local church.

“You have these mentoring relationships that that [come out of training gatherings]. That really helps build the depth for a church in a region that is completely underground, restricted access, has no access to Paul-like figures in their lives,” says Handley. 

“Discipleship, at the end of the day, is ‘How do I become more like Christ?’ Mentoring is more than just the spiritual dynamics. It includes normal relational things — equipping you to deal with your marriage, or your kids or your church or your extended family. They’re different, but there’s a lot of synergy between the two.”

Find your place in this story. Pray for more mentors within A3, and for the growth of the Christian leaders receiving training in this ministry.

“As we continue to expand, we need more seasoned veteran leaders who are willing to give up some time and either travel to a country and spend a week investing in emerging younger leaders, or jump on a Zoom call or Skype call.”

Finally, consider investing with A3 in future generations of leaders around the world. Click here to read more about an exciting matching grant challenge. Gifts made by donors outside of the U.S. to A3’s matching grant campaign will be tripled.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Gabriel Almanzar via Pexels.

A small group of MAF interns travels together to one of the ministry’s overseas bases. There, they spend four weeks being mentored in missionary aviation life and help with remote outreach opportunities.

Eric Kellerer, MAF’s Director of Waypoints says, “It’s really designed to begin thinking about a long-term calling.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Before MAF interns go to the mission field, they spend eight weeks preparing. “They join together with usually about 10 others that are going on this internship and they learn to [deal with] conflict,” says Kellerer.

“What do they do when they have interpersonal conflicts on the field? What will they do when they don’t know how to get food in a different language? We process through lots of different questions like that and they try to think ahead about what that will be like. Then we prepare them to actually go onto the field.”

On the mission field, a mentor couple walks alongside the interns as they learn the local language, culture, and challenges.

From there, Kellerer says, “We usually go out into some of the far reaches where Mission Aviation Fellowship flies on a regular basis, and these are to the most isolated people groups…. [But] instead of going by air, we go by foot or boat or bus or van or horseback, depending on the country. It’s not an easy journey.

“For example, on a recent trip to Lesotho, our interns hiked for eight hours into a village. At the end of that time, they spent two days ministering alongside of some pastors and some nurses that were working in the village in this remote area. Then after two days, an MAF airplane came into that landing strip and picked them up and took them back to the capitol.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

“Now the flight back was only about 35 minutes long. But the interns then will forever understand how important that tool of ministry the airplane is in that region. If we just flew in, they would be thinking, ‘Wow, this was a nice flight, very pretty, beautiful flight, very nice village.’ But they would not understand how remote and isolated those families are — and there are about 9,000 people that live within a two hour walk of that village.”

Interns also interact with local missionary families, see what life is like for spouses and children, and work with other ministries MAF partners with.

Ultimately, the Waypoints internship program was created to prepare potential missionaries in practical ways, dispel myths about missions work, and hopefully refine interns’ sense of calling from the Lord to become full-time missionaries.

“We looked at many of the reasons why people left the field early…and we said some of those are very legitimate, very noble reasons to come home to your home country,” says Kellerer. “But some of the reasons were really things that, if we had actually invested in their lives, we could help them to actually have longer terms of service there.”

If you’re interested in learning more about a Waypoints internship, contact MAF here!

“Is God inviting you to be part of this Great Commission in different cultures and different lands outside of your comfort zone?” Kellerer asks. “Is He inviting you into that experience to be sent?”

Header photo shows a view of Papua, Indonesia from the window of an MAF plane. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

“The holidays are an incredibly difficult time for men and women behind bars,” says Anne Hamming, communications director of Crossroads Prison Ministries. “They know all the festivities that are going on outside of prison walls and they are not able to participate in them with their families.

“Many people behind bars are parents or grandparents. Many of them have children growing up without them home. So especially for those men and women, the holidays can be incredibly painful to get through.”

Art by Sean Rikers, the cover art of Crossroads’ 2022 Christmas card. (Photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

However, God has not forgotten those in prison. Crossroads makes sure prisoners know that by mailing Christmas cards to their incarcerated Bible study students.

This year, Crossroads mailed over 18,000 Christmas cards to men and women behind bars.

The Christmas cards feature beautiful artwork by other prisoners, and serve as a profound source of encouragement.

Hamming says, “To put it in context, many of them get zero mail. They get no visitors. So on top of the ones who feel the pain of being away from their families, others feel the pain of utter isolation and feeling forgotten. Many, many students tell us that our lessons and our Christmas cards are the only mail that they get.”

Crossroads can always use more believers who are willing to volunteer as mentors in the Bible study program. It’s like being a Bible study pen pal with a prisoner.

What better time than Christmas to begin a new mentoring relationship with someone behind bars who needs the encouragement of a Savior?

(Image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

Hamming says, “Many of our volunteers can do it at their convenience. Several of them volunteer while they’re having their morning coffee before they get their day started. It’s really easy to volunteer with Crossroads. It’s a small time commitment. It just takes an hour to reflect and if you have some encouragement in your heart that you can put down on paper, it means the world to someone living behind bars.”

Learn more about becoming a Crossroads mentor!

Header image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.