At Crossroads, every change we make is aimed at better serving our students—men and women seeking hope, guidance, and connection in the often-isolating environment of prison. Due to the rise of drugs entering prisons through the mail and ongoing staff shortages, corrections officials have introduced stricter mail procedures that significantly affect how we send lessons to our students. In response, we’ve reformatted our Bible study lessons to ensure we can continue reaching as many students as possible, even in facilities with restrictive mail policies. For students like Buck in Texas, these updates can make all the difference.
Buck has felt the weight of these restrictions but also the impact of Crossroads’ commitment to overcoming them. Last year, when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) changed its mail regulations, Crossroads acted quickly so that students like Buck could continue receiving lessons. By requiring mentors to send completed lessons back to the Crossroads office for redistribution, we aligned with TDCJ policies so that over 4,000 students in Texas state prisons could continue their lessons. With our new lesson format, students will face fewer obstacles in accessing Bible studies that help them grow in their faith.
Buck, a Crossroads student in Texas
For Buck, these lessons have been more than just studies—they’ve been lifelines. “This course helped solidify what I know about God in that He’ll never leave us; we only need to pay attention,” he shared. Through sincere letters from mentors and his Bible study lessons, Buck found encouragement to keep going, even when life felt overwhelming. He recalled one pivotal moment:
“That night, I received one study during mail call. In that study was a chapter that God used to save my life years ago, Psalm 32. It was a reminder, and it instantly inspired me to check myself and my thinking. I’ve only moved forward since.”
The changes to our lessons address the challenges students like Buck face every day. Over 100 facilities have adopted mail policies that lead to lessons being rejected, delayed, or delivered incomplete. Many institutions now electronically scan mail or reject items with colored ink or staples. Our new format (8.5-by-11-inch double-sided sheets printed in black and white) is designed to remove these obstacles. By transitioning from booklets to this new format, we hope to reconnect with as many students as possible.
This new format also improves efficiency by allowing lessons to be printed on demand, enabling the program to grow and serve even more students in the future while maintaining the same engaging and thoughtful content. Mentors will continue providing personalized feedback, which remains at the heart of the Crossroads experience. As Buck shares, “All the letters I’ve received from the different mentors have been sincere. To me, sincerity means a lot and goes a very long way. I always look forward to their feedback.”
For students like Buck, these courses are more than just a way to pass the time—they are transforming lives. “I recently had the experience of sharing my testimony with a dying prisoner in hospice. After a few minutes of my testimony, I turned to see several individuals in the room with me. Five prisoners, one of every religion.”
That day, Buck was able to share his faith with others because of the encouragement and strengthening he received from his mentors.
This testimony reminds us why we do what we do. The reformatted lessons are more than a logistical update—they are a renewed promise to our students: no matter the obstacles, we will continue to share the Gospel, provide encouragement, and stand alongside them on their spiritual journeys. For Buck and thousands of others, these lessons are more than paper and ink; they are lifelines to hope and a brighter future.
To see samples of our reformatted lessons, view our courses here.