A simple gesture has turned into a full blown ministry for our tiny church.

A few years ago, Dave S. "hit bottom." Although he had been on the edge of disaster many times, it wasn't until he found himself in prison that God was finally able to get his attention. When he wrote a letter to his retired brother and sister-in-law, he asked if they could offer him any help. Their limited income didn't offer much room for financial support, but they were able to offer Dave a New Living Translation study bible.

"I honestly didn't expect him to accept the Bible, but it's the only thing we could offer that we knew would actually help him." recalls Dave's sister-in-law, Gini. "When he wrote back and said that he would like to have the Bible, I knew that God was at work in Dave... so we sent him the same study Bible that we had been using. marvin (Dave's brother) and I started receiving more letters from Dave with questions, comments and finally... a request for another Bible for Dave's cell-mate!"

And that's how it started. Over the next few months, requests for the "Green Bible" (nicknamed after it's green cover) continued to come in every month... then every week... then several per week. Today, Berea Baptist Church sends these Bibles to jails and prisons accross the country and the requests keep coming. 

After the Bibles found their way into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, another request soon follow. The inmates wanted to have a regular Bible study. Pastor Larry Williams was the first from our church to go into YCDF to lead group Bible studies. The requests continued to come in from other groups in other units and more church members answered the call to share the gospel message in the jail.

We have now seeded jails and prisons with thousands of study Bibles. Each one by request and each inmate only receiving one. We continue to receive hundreds of letters from inmates. Some write just to say "thanks." Some write with questions and some write to donate some of their very limited money to purchase another Bible to keep the ministry moving. There are now Bible studies in jails and prisons accross the U.S. that are being led by inmates who have found salvation through this wonderful work that God has laid before us.

To read this, you may assume that we are a large church with hundreds of members pitching in to spread God's word. The reality is, when this mission began, we only had 5 or 6 regularly attending members. Even now, our numbers on an average Sunday will only reach 20 to 30 worshipers. 

If you're not looking for us, it's easy to drive right past our humble little church. For those who have been led by the Lord to come through our doors, a wonderful work is ready for them.

Come and see what that Lord is doing from Shepherd, MT!

We would love to have you join us!