Volunteer mentors are the heart of Crossroads Prison Ministries. In order to provide ongoing training and encouragement for volunteers, we provide monthly newsletters called Just for Mentors. Each newsletter includes tips, ideas and encouragement from Doug Cupery, director of church mobilization at Crossroads, and important news and reminders for mentors. We hope these newsletters help you become the best mentor you can be!
Just for Mentors: MAY 2022
Just for Mentors: MAY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug reminds us that no one is beyond redemption. After God transformed the apostle Paul into a new man, he was no longer defined by his past but by his new identity in Christ. Share this joyful news with your students!
Just for Mentors: APRIL 2022
Just for Mentors: APRIL
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug emphasizes the importance of building a solid foundation on Jesus Christ. When people returning home from prison lean on God and not on their own understanding, they stay on a steadier course. Encourage your students to center their lives on Christ, the Chief Cornerstone!
Just for Mentors: MARCH 2022
Just for Mentors: MARCH
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug discusses a common theme found in letters from Crossroads students: a longing for restoration. Some students may express this very candidly; others may only hint at it. No matter what your student decides to share with you, be sure to encourage them with the good news that we serve a God of restoration!
Just for Mentors: FEBRUARY 2022
Just for Mentors: FEBRUARY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug addresses how the evil one works hard to make men and women behind bars and those who have served their sentences feel hopeless. When facing an issue as big as mass incarceration, creating change can seem overwhelming or even insurmountable. But we know that mountains can be moved. Change starts with faithful prayer. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to download our prayer journal (cpministries.org/prayer-journal) and commit to twenty-four days of prayer.
Just for Mentors: JANUARY 2022
Just for Mentors: JANUARY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug speaks on how life-altering events in his family life are teaching him valuable life lessons. These situations occur to our students as well, and can encourage them to respond by taking a hard look at their lives and reevaluating priorities. This season, encourage your student to seek God’s heart in all their plans by setting goals.
Just for Mentors: DECEMBER 2021
Just for Mentors: DECEMBER
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug shares his experiences as he interacts with a student art piece titled The Magi’s Gifts. As you are reminded of the Magi in Matthew 2, consider our students. Many of them possess very little, but they give freely of what they do have. Consider our student artists who generously share their work with us. Consider the students who give $5 here, $10 there to support the Crossroads program. Consider the students who use their gifts to lead Bible studies in their facilities. This is their gold, frankincense and myrrh, and it is beautiful.
Just for Mentors: NOVEMBER 2021
Just for Mentors: NOVEMBER
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug explains the weight that labels can have on people. When we begin placing negative, demeaning labels on others, we can inflict harm. As you write to your students this month, consider including phrases within your letters that defy what the world may be telling them…
Just for Mentors: OCTOBER 2021
Just for Mentors: OCTOBER
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug recounts his time at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference in Muskegon, MI. He shares how his days were filled with passionate teachings, rich conversations and opportunities to share stories and information about Crossroads. But what Doug found most special was the intimate times of prayer. How are you praying for your students?
Just for Mentors: SEPTEMBER 2021
Just for Mentors: SEPTEMBER
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug tells the story of how a trusted friend’s husband experiences transformation through meeting with the marginalized. When you are proximate to those who are forgotten, there is something in it for you: Jesus’ very presence. When we encounter people on the margins, we encounter Jesus.
Just for Mentors: AUGUST 2021
Just for Mentors: AUGUST
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug shares the importance of confession in the process of healing and God’s abundant forgiveness. If your student is struggling with guilt, regret or shame for the hurt they have caused themselves or others, invite them to pray a prayer of confession.
Just for Mentors: JULY 2021
Just for Mentors: JULY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug encourages us to step into the beautiful, yet often unspoken, truth: the Church is made up of broken and imperfect people. The good news is that each one of us, even with our many imperfections, makes the body of Christ more complete in its reflection of Jesus!
Just for Mentors: JUNE 2021
Just for Mentors: JUNE
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug shares the difficulties in facing sin and our desperate need for a Savior. How can we encourage our students to ask meaningful questions that invite them to look beneath the surface of their lives? What questions can we ask ourselves?