With an Active Student Enrollment of over 24,000 students, thousands of personal letters pass through the doors of the American Bible Academy each month. Each inmate has a personal testimony of how the A.B.A.'s courses have touched his/her life. The words of one letter immediately caught my attention: "I have been a Satan worshipper, a drug dealer, and a murderer!"

Wow! What an introductory statement! This inmate had my attention, and he used the opportunity to literally "make a beeline to the cross." His next lines focused upon faith, repentance, confession, baptism, and the impact Jesus has had upon his life. This inmate is now active in ministry work within his prison, and he stressed that the A.B.A.'s courses are challenging him daily to live a holy life and repent of all sin.

Another letter also spoke to my heart. This inmate shared these words: "I've completed many studies over my four years of incarceration, but only through the A.B.A. has my knowledge grown beyond the milk of the Word. I really enjoy the historical element that's added and how the studies are designed to drill important points in one's mind. Joshua 1:8 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and your efforts are helping me to fulfill that verse."

I could only wonder what individual or church sponsored this inmate's $8.00 course? Who would be rewarded in eternity for helping this prisoner live out the words of Joshua 1:8? This verse reads, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." The life of another inmate, with four years of prison under his belt, has been transformed, and he is focusing his eyes upon eternity.

What could have been just "another day at the office" was becoming a source of many blessings. The personal testimonies were revealing a common thread-God was using the people who support the evangelistic outreach of A.R.M. and the A.B.A. to convict the hearts of prisoners through the power of God's Word!

This fact was driven home by yet another inmate's letter. "While I was waiting on my A.B.A. course, the Holy Spirit began working on me and filling me with a deep hunger for more knowledge concerning God's Word. Since that time, I have grown considerably in holiness and understanding. I have committed the rest of my life to God's service and preaching and teaching God's Word. The A.B.A. has solidified my path, and I yearn for more knowledge about Him and the tools of God's trade. I thank you for making this part of my life, my incarceration, my time of dedication!"

What a conversion! What an example of the Gospel's transforming power! And just think, through your support of the A.B.A., an inmate's period of incarceration has become his "time of dedication!"

After looking at these students' records, I was pleased to learn that each of these 3 inmates had received Denver Sizemore's Christian Doctrine Vol. 1 Bible correspondence course.

How timely these inmates' letters were, for this afternoon, the A.B.A. submitted a transcript of Denver's Christian Doctrine Vol. 1 for reprinting. Another 5,000 copies of this powerful evangelistic and teaching tool will arrive in several weeks.

If only three copies of Denver Sizemore's course on Christian Doctrine could effectively minister to the hearts of these inmates, then just imagine the impact 5,000 of these courses will have upon the students of the American Bible Academy!

Would you prayerfully consider sponsoring several of these Christian Doctrine Vol. 1 textbooks?

Who knows? It may be your offering that will be rewarded in eternity for transforming the life of another "Satan worshipper, drug dealer, and murderer."

By Joe R. Garman

Joe with Dr. Alyoshin at the front gate of the prison where he was once incarcerated but now serves as a prison evangelist.

Max Goins (veteran missionary to Russia), Dr. Nikolai Alyoshin (ARM’s Russian prison evangelist) and I, were invited to southern Russia to meet with a group of Turkish leaders to explore the possibilities of teaching their children about Christ. This invitation was actually initiated by Islamic Turks from three villages outside Krasnodar. We met with Muslim farmers, businessmen, educators and even some government leaders. These Turkish elders have a sincere interest in Christianity as a part of their future, although they were quick to inform us that the older people, including themselves, were not interested in converting from their traditional Islamic ways. Instead, they wanted their children to learn about Christianity and they encouraged us to begin starting Christian youth groups in their communities. This is indeed an obvious and accessible opportunity for the Church.

Dr. Nikolai Alyoshin, who lives in Krasnodar, is personally following up on them. During one of his Sunday morning messages he said, "As Christ’s Church, we are called to be His hands and feet to a lost and dying world … including the Muslims." Prior to this auspicious event I spent two weeks teaching the second, third, and fourth year students at the Apostle Paul Academy in Moscow. These young people are the future of the Church in Russia and I was grateful for the opportunity to teach them. I was also able to spend valuable time with Dr. Alyoshin formulating plans for the future growth of our prison ministry there. ARM now has eight branch prison ministries around the world: Africa, Cambodia, Korea, Mexico, India, Thailand, the Philippines and Russia. On one occasion when Dr. Alyoshin was introducing me he said, "It is only fitting that Joe Garman, a prison evangelist, is with us today because all of Russia is one big prison, where communism has taught ‘THERE IS NO GOD’!" Doors are being divinely opened for us – may God have mercy on us if we fail to walk through them. Anyone desiring to work with Brother Alyoshin on this project or send words of encouragement, may do so by e-mailing him at: persimon@mail.ru