“When the Lord speaks, you must listen carefully—because it might be the moment He’s calling you.”
Arie never expected to spend his life serving inside prison walls. A skilled toolmaker and theology student, he first partnered with Crossroads in South Africa to help train and encourage students preparing for life after prison.
But in 2012, when his friend and ministry partner Alwyn passed away unexpectedly, Arie sensed God calling him to step in.
What began with occasional prison visits soon became a full-time calling. Today, Arie spends five days a week visiting students in eight prisons and helping coordinate the Crossroads program across South Africa. Through Bible lessons, personal visits, and prayer, he helps men encounter God’s Word—and discover that their lives still have purpose.
“The most rewarding thing,” Arie says, “is seeing when they begin to hear God’s voice. When His Word goes out, it never returns empty.”
Arie has witnessed transformation in the lives of many Crossroads students over the years.
One student, Hendrik, was living in solitary confinement—angry, isolated, and labeled “beyond hope.” When Arie first met him, his cell was filthy and his spirit was broken. But through prayer, encouragement, and reminders of his identity in Christ, Hendrik began to change. Within weeks, he cleaned his cell, his anger softened, and he reconnected with his family. Today, he is calm, grounded, and growing in faith.
Another student, Meshack, would wait faithfully each week at the prison gate, calling out, “Pastor Arie, don’t forget me.” Through Crossroads lessons and mentorship, Meshack was inspired to finish his education after his release. Today, he is actively involved in student leadership at his university. [Read more about Meshack’s story.]
Stories like these remind Arie why this work matters.
“We are just pens in God’s hand,” he says. “He is the one writing on people’s hearts.”
Through Crossroads, people in prison are not forgotten. They are seen, encouraged, and given the opportunity to study Scripture, grow in faith, and begin again.
But this life-changing work is only possible because of faithful mentors and supporters.
You can be part of stories like Hendrik’s and Meshack’s.
By becoming a mentor, praying, or giving, you help bring God’s Word and encouragement to men and women searching for hope. When you say, “Yes!” God uses you to write new stories of redemption. “If you’re ready to be used,” Arie says, “the Lord will open the door—and sometimes even the prison gate.” Learn more about how you can get invovled.