Igniting Evangelistic Passion with Crossroads

In case you missed it, Coffee Break has a new partnership with Crossroads Prison Ministry! 

Crossroads will begin using several of the Discover Your Bible studies as part of their curriculum beginning in 2019. The studies will be adapted some to fit their particular context. This partnership is more than just sharing materials, we also want to partner in learning and igniting evangelistic passion—whether in your neighborhood or behind bars.

Along the way, we discovered that many Coffee Break leaders and participants are also Crossroads mentors. This makes sense. Coffee Break and Crossroads share the same heart for creating safe relationships where people can explore and discover for themselves what the Bible says and means. We also heard from Coffee Break friends that mentoring with Crossroads helps them better understand and relate to people who were far from the church.

One leader outlined several ways that she developed her evangelistic skills as a mentor and how it better equipped her for Coffee Break leadership, saying: 

• When I do Crossroads I am amazed at how God works in a person's heart through the studying of scripture! I imagine them alone in their cell, just them and God and God’s word and "Wow!" they get it more than some people who have grown up in the church. The Holy Spirit is working mightily! So, first I learn that my God is bigger than I let him be or bigger than I can comprehend. He changes people’s hearts through the reading of His word (just like Coffee Break). 
• I get to witness true faith in action. These people are in dark places and God’s word is their only light! I guess being a mentor grows me just as much as them!
• I share spiritual thoughts!  I get to write a whole letter about it!  Most people do not want to spend that much time on spiritual thoughts. So fun to do that with Crossroads!
• I get to practice sharing my faith and what an awesome God we have on a piece of paper (so nice and safe!)
• It is hard for me to just walk up to someone and witness but through Coffee Break and Crossroads God sends me the men and women to share with. I just need to be willing to share!

Here’s our invitation for you:

Consider becoming a Crossroads mentor or sharing this information with your Bible study group. New volunteers can sign up to review one Bible study lesson a week. It takes about an hour to review a student’s lesson and write an encouraging letter to them. If you want to make a longer commitment of a year or more, you can ask to become a one-on-one mentor for a student.

You could journey with that student as they take multiple Bible courses, but you don’t need to make that decision right away. Crossroads usually asks that new mentors try out the ministry for a month or more before making a longer term commitment. If you do sign-up, please list “Coffee Break” as your referrer and let Crossroads know you heard about them through us!

Check out mentoring on the Crossroads website below. Check out the mentor application for more information about becoming a mentor. 

How does your group stay focused inviting friends to discover Jesus with you in Coffee Break or Bible study?

Please share your ideas below or email to [email protected]. We also want to know if you are already a Coffee Break participant and Crossroads member. If you are please email us at [email protected].