Andy Corley and Jos Snoep each serves as President and CEO of their respective organizations, PFI and BLI, and they recently sat down to recall the first ten years of this precious partnership. You’ll be blessed as you hear Andy and Jos speak about their love and concern for the prison population, and as they share two profound memories from visits with inmates who benefited from our programs.

Subscribe and invite someone to listen with you to The Word in Action Podcast. Length: 40:45.

Subscribe, listen, and comment on this podcast at:

Look for us on your favorite podcast player app.

Joao is a member of Africa Continent Mission Church in his community in Mozambique. He has collaborated with Bible League for more than two decades.

Though his father was a pastor, Joao started turning away from the church when he was young.

“I grew up in church, but later, I became rebellious and stopped going,” he says. “I got married to a woman who feared God. I never forbade her and my children from attending church. I was even happy with it.”

Joao was a public school teacher but decided to change career paths in 1997 when he became a manager at a local company. The work was going well, and life was good. But after two years, it took a drastic turn. A major issue at work led to Joao being falsely accused of something.

He doesn’t share many details, but he does tell us the aftermath: he was sentenced to time in prison.

It’s amazing how God used Joao’s time in prison as a time of pursuit.

People from his wife’s church visited him, including Pastor Jamie, the national director of Bible League’s ministry in Mozambique.

Pastor Jamie began talking about small group Bible studies that were soon starting in the prisons. Joao agreed to attend.

The Bible study changed his life. “That Bible study helped me to be born again and to become who I am today,” he says.

After graduating from the Bible study, he trained as a facilitator so he could use his experience as a teacher to share the Gospel.

He served faithfully for remainder of his time in prison.

After five years in prison, the court proved Joao wasn’t liable for his incarceration.

Miraculously, he was released. “That made me realize that God used this time as a way for me to get back to Him,” he says. He continued to facilitate the small group Bible studies with the inmates.

He attended Church Planter Training, then studied theology and eventually was ordained as a pastor.

But he never forgot where his journey started. “I never stopped being a Bible study facilitator because God’s Word is powerful,” he says.

“People who have never had the opportunity to read and study God’s Word still need salvation. I am thankful to Bible League and all the programs they provide, for the positively impact real lives.”

Life in prison is chaotic. Eric is living without freedom. He’s got a poor diet, he misses his family, and he’s surrounded by bad people. But he has learned gratitude. “Everything happens for a reason,” he says. “Despite the current hardship, God is with me and has a good plan. He’s aware of my circumstance and will intervene.”

Eric learned to forgive himself and others and respect his body as a temple, relying on God always. Freedom means living positively with God and humanity. “Project Philip Bible studies were amazing; I gained knowledge of Scripture without being judged. The booklet content grew a hunger to know the truth.”

John 3:16 drew Eric closer to Christ, showing why Jesus came to the world, “to save a wretched man like me,” he says. The stories of Joseph, Paul, Peter, and Silas inspired him. Eric has faced discrimination from his friends and family because of his salvation.

“My loving wife didn’t desert me, she is God-fearing and used to ask me to get saved, but I couldn’t because of my bad deeds,” he says. “Some relatives were happy, but others did not believe my conversion story. I pray that He will reveal this to them.”

Eric has joined a prison church and formed a class for inmates to study the Bible with the chaplain. The inmates have responded positively to his newfound faith, witnessing his changed demeanor. Inmates need love and biblical materials to learn His Word without condemnation. Eric desires to spread the Gospel and remain faithful to Christ upon release. He prays to reconcile with his family and find a job to sustain them.

“Pray for my release and resources to fulfill my purpose,” he says. He thanks Bible League for their unlimited care for prisoners. “Continue donating God’s Word in prison; it’s the only tool that rehabilitates and reintegrates prisoners into society.”

Encouraged by her cellmates, Naila joined a Project Philip Bible study group in prison. She repented and received water baptism. After completing the program, Naila kept reading the Bible she had received.

Paul’s question from Romans 8:35 captivated her. “Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love?”

Naila recalled how the answer in verse 37 tremendously encouraged her: “But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us.”

Naila is convinced she ended up in jail because God wanted to save her. “He used this to show me my life without Him was meaningless,” she said. “I can boldly say I am a new creation.”

Now, Naila is sharing the Word of God with her fellow prisoners. “I am an example for others to see that nothing is too hard for the Lord,” she said. “I am able to stand for Jesus on any occasion, and nothing can make me deny Him.”

Naila expressed her thanks to you for bringing her the Gospel that set her free. “I desire to share the mercy God showed me with others in and out of jail,” she concluded. “Pray that God’s fire will continue burning in me, even when things are hard.”

Fernando and Ireri are missionaries and pastors who lead one of the largest prison ministries in Mexico. Their ministry brings the Word of God to 6 prisons in Mexico City and the State of Mexico where more than 10,000 people are incarcerated.

Fernando and Ireri took very different paths to where they are today. Ireri was raised in a Christian home with a long tradition of ministry work; her mother was a renowned missionary in Mexico who was known for her hard work and love for the Lord. But Fernando lived a life that he describes as messy and empty. “I didn’t know where to go, I didn’t know if there is life after this,” he says.

Eventually, Fernando received salvation and they were married. They lived what seemed like a typical Christian life; they were active in a local church, their children were involved. But the Lord called them to more.

During a church service, a man who was recently released from prison gave his testimony. As he listened, Fernando’s passion for prisoners was ignited. Before he knew the Lord, Fernando had been arrested. He had spent time behind bars and knew firsthand that people there needed to learn about Christ.

“That was the spark we needed,” he says of that testimony. “I was in church, we did courses, we served, we were active. My children were on the praise team, we were in marriage meetings. We were active, but there is one thing: the Lord gives you a purpose beyond what you have imagined. He says, ‘At this point, you have already completed and passed this test. I need you in another place.’”

Fernando accompanied his church’s prison ministry on their next visit and, to his surprise, collected more than 40 prayer requests. He passed them on to his wife who diligently prayed for each one and wrote a letter in response. “She used to write up to 100 letters a week,” he remembers.

“It’s incredible how the Lord can put such a great love in us as He has for humanity, that we can love people who committed crimes,” Fernando says. “Many of them did horrible things, yet you can see men transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ. You can see the new creature that is born again, and that old things passed away and became new for them.”

Fernando and Ireri’s hearts desire to see transformed lives, and to see men and women in prison begin to live out their callings. They use Bible League’s Freedom Bible and Project Philip Bible studies to help prisoners discover the truth of the Gospel and their purpose beyond prison. “How will you allow the Lord to tell you, ‘these are the talents I gave you to develop?’ Maybe you have mercy, but you don’t develop it because they don’t allow it when you’re locked up,” Fernando says.

But they are doing more than that; they are reaching entire families. “When a person goes into prison, not only the person falls, but the whole family falls. The spouse, the parents, the children, but what happens then? We minister to them through the Bible League materials. And just as the family entered the prison, so the family also comes together to learn about the Lord and embrace the faith,” he says.

Fernando and Ireri recognize the enormous spiritual need for the Word of God in their country’s prisons. They are grateful to Bible League for providing effective tools to help people understand God’s Word. “Some of these people have never held a Bible in their hands, and they are curious to see that it says Freedom Bible with a picture of a prisoner,” Fernando says. “The language makes people interested in reading and that is how God touches their hearts.”

The couple pours out gratitude to the Bible League supporters who are helping them reach thousands. “To you joyful givers: You have no idea what you are doing or how you are participating in the spread of the Kingdom of God,” he says. “We thank God very much for your lives and participation in this ministry; perhaps you have never entered prison, but I want to tell you that what you do touches hearts and blesses many people.”

Chandra spent three years behind bars. “It was the most painful years of my life,” he recalls sadly. “I was happy to be back home. However, my wife and our children struggled a lot. They had to go through a lot of pain and shame because of me. With no food to eat or anybody to care for them, I felt extremely hopeless.”

After seeing the pain the family was undergoing, his wife’s relative invited her to church. Hopeful after her visit and feeling like church was where she needed to be, she encouraged Chandra to go with her. The pastor of the church prayed for them and told them about Jesus.

Chandra felt his life change as he attended church each week. He learned more about God through the Project Philip Bible study he attended there. The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 touched Chandra’s heart and changed his life. He notes, “I felt like Zacchaeus. I had made many mistakes, and I realized that I needed repentance. I cried to God to forgive me for my wrongs. I believe God forgave me and made me a new person.”

Today, his life is much different. He is a leader in his church and helps to evangelize in his community. He beams, “When I look back, my marriage has changed. My wife supports me a lot. and we are a lot happier than before. I’m very grateful to God for all He has done in my life.”