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: 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?
Just for Mentors: MAY 2021
Just for Mentors: MAY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug addresses the upsetting or even traumatic changes that our students experience in prison. As you write to your students, encourage them with this constant truth: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Just for Mentors: APRIL 2021
Just for Mentors: APRIL
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug illustrates the darkness and suffering that many of our students face in prison. He encourages us to be active in drowning out Satan’s darkness with the light of Christ. As mentors and students, we can do this by providing an encouraging word to others, by praying and partnering with the Spirit.
Just for Mentors: MARCH 2021
Just for Mentors: MARCH
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug challenges mentors to remind their students that they are not forgotten. While incarcerated, Paul remembered the church on the outside, and the church remember him too. This brought Paul much-needed comfort and joy, and even resulted in many of the Epistles we are encouraged by today.
Just for Mentors: FEBRUARY 2021
Just for Mentors: FEBRUARY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug discusses the collateral consequences that affect people released from prison. Many people who are released from prison are caught off guard by these unforeseen obstacles, and they may be highly discouraged as they try to reintegrate into society. Consider encouraging your students to incorporate healthy routines in their days such as a prayer, reading Scripture, or listening to uplifting music.
Just for Mentors: JANUARY 2020
Just for Mentors: JANUARY
In this month’s Just for Mentors, Doug speaks on the effects that the prison environment has on so many people in prison. The constant vigilance, oppressive routines and a lack of freedom to make your own decisions can cause severe damage over time. Many people who are released from prison are incarcerated again within three years! As you think about what to write in your letters this month, Doug encourages mentors to try a “breath prayer.”