Crossroads Walks with Students for Decades

Just as some mentors have served for decades, a small cohort of students have remained with us for twenty years or more.

At the end of 2023, Crossroads served fifty-two active students who began their involvement at least twenty years ago. These students are among the roughly one percent of incarcerated people in the United States whose sentences exceed twenty years.

Their letters and their applications for Tier 2 and Tier 3 admission provide a window into their lives. Some diligently prepare for the day they will finally be released. Others openly acknowledge that they will die behind bars because they have no chance for parole in their lifespans. Each of these longtime students has a unique story of faith and perseverance. As we celebrate forty years of ministry, we honor their commitment to the Lord and thank them for allowing us to walk with them.

Below, we share excerpts of writing from five of our longtime students.

George R., a student in Texas

From a Troubled Youth to a Life of Faith

“At fifteen, I was a car thief, a soon-to-be father, and living a very messed up life,” George said of his life more than two decades ago.

“I was heartless and had no understanding of life. I was quick to harm others, and my family bore a lot of stress, worry, and heartache because of my anger,” he said.

In jail, he pledged his life to the Lord and got baptized. A few months later, he was tried as an adult and given a lengthy prison sentence.

“I knew in my heart God pulled me away from the streets,” he said of his sentence.

“Arriving at prison was a numbing feeling,” he said. “Sleeping was difficult unless I read Scripture and prayed. . . . Throughout my years in prison, God has never let me go.”

Remembering many years of isolation, he said, “Crossroads kept me company. I cannot explain why I continued to do my studies. Nevertheless, God has blessed me to learn through Crossroads. And somehow, along the way, my attitude has changed. Now, I firmly believe the Spirit of God has been working in my heart and transforming my worldview. Crossroads was one of the many tools God gave me.

“[My Tier 2 mentor] was very encouraging during some difficult times I was facing. As a friend, she listened to devastating news, pointing me back to God’s promises, [and] prayed for me.

“I don’t know where my life will end, but here I sit, waiting on the Lord to guide me. As I reflect on my life, I am compelled to do nothing but believe in God’s providence.”

George is eligible for parole this year.

Walter M., a student in South Carolina, pictured in 2015

A Life Transformed by God’s Love

Walter began his Crossroads journey in 2001. With the support of Crossroads mentors, Walter’s faith grew.

“Now I know I am loved no matter what I have done. God is on my side, and He is my all [in] all, and no one or anything can take that away from me. That is why I read, study, and pray every day,” Walter said.

“[I] thank the Lord for all the people that helped me find Him to be my Lord and Savior, all the staff at Crossroads for helping keep me on the right road, and all the other people that are praying for me that I don’t even know. All I do know is that I can trust the Lord and will do anything and go wherever He wants me to go. I just want to do His will for the rest of my life,” he said.

Jeffrey H., a student in California

Student Stays Committed over Two Decades

Jeffrey lost his Marine Corps career and family through a string of criminal convictions that began in 1998. In 2000, while in jail awaiting sentencing, he encountered the Word of God, accepted Jesus into his heart, and began participating in Bible studies.

“I was sentenced to fifty-five years to life. In 2003, they resentenced me to 105 years to life. I still never gave up, and I know I am free,” he said. “Jesus’ love is with me always. . . . He has saved me from destruction. I know without Him, I would not be here today.”

Despite taking breaks lasting months and years, Jeffrey has continued to come back to his Crossroads lessons over the last twenty-two years.

“I know it took me a long time to finish [Tier 1], but I never quit,” he said.

Faith Journey Sparks Creativity

Raised in a church, Steven first accepted Jesus as a teenager. “I soon got off track,” he said. “It was years later that Jesus got me on the same page.”

In his free time, Steven enjoys painting, crocheting, and creative writing. Over the past six years, after a thirteen-year break from the program, he has sent us a dozen pieces of art alongside his lessons, many of which depict scenes throughout Scripture. Others convey scenes from nature.

Steven D., a Crossroads student in Missouri, turned to painting during his imprisonment. Many of his paintings convey scenes from nature, and his work was featured on the Christmas card we mailed to our students in 2019.

Patrick R., a recent Crossroads graduate in California, in 2020

Crossroads Graduate Still Writes to Mentor

After finishing Tier 1, Tier 2, and half of Tier 3 in the early 2000s, Patrick lost track of his Crossroads courses as he worked on completing his college degree.

“I studied with Crossroads many years ago but lost the study due to other courses and correspondence classes,” he wrote to us in 2020. “The study came back to me through the [Our] Daily Bread publication. It was remarkable; a sense of nostalgia rushed into my spirit as I remembered the course and how all those years ago, I wanted to advance but got distracted by other courses.”

Last year, Patrick graduated from Tier 3, and he continues to correspond with his mentor today. He hopes one day to use what he has learned from Crossroads and his academic studies to share the Gospel with others.

Long-term incarceration

One percent of people in state prisons serve sentences exceeding twenty years (Bureau of Justice Statistics).

Crossroads currently has fifty-two active students who enrolled at least twenty years ago.

Over the last five years, an average of 118 people have graduated from Crossroads each year.

To graduate, students must complete the required lessons in Tiers 1 and 2, which takes five to six years of continuous study. After graduation, students may continue with Tier 3, which can take another three years of continuous study to complete.