The Jailbird Ministry has reached a milestone—we’ve provided over 5,000 Bibles to WV inmates! It began with a small number of Bibles, limited resources, and a simple desire to reach inmates with God’s Word.
I’m reminded of how Jesus fed the 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. It’s the only miracle, besides the resurrection, that is mentioned in all four Gospel accounts. It reveals that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John considered this moment essential to understand Jesus. It not only verified that Jesus was the Messiah, but demonstrated His compassion for humanity.
Shortly before Passover, Jesus cured a man that was unable to walk, and then slipped into the crowd. Thousands of people followed Him to a mountain near the Sea of Galilee where He began to teach. As evening approached, the disciples suggested sending the people away to nearby villages to buy food. Instead, Jesus gave them a challenge: You give them something to eat!
Imagine the shocked look on their faces. Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, pointed to a young boy with five small barley loaves and two little fish, but the boy’s lunch couldn’t possibly feed 5,000 men, plus women and children.
Jesus had the multitude sit down on the grass. Then He took the loaves and fish, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, broke the bread into pieces, and distributed the food to the disciples, who passed it among the people. Miraculously, everyone ate and was satisfied, and the food left over filled twelve baskets.
Meeting the crowd’s physical hunger prepared them and us, to understand that Jesus not only supplies bread—He is the Bread of Life. Jesus said in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” The Word becomes the place where hungry souls discover the One who truly satisfies.
The boy who gave all he had to Jesus, is only mentioned in John’s account. In the throng that followed Jesus, the least likely person, a child, became the vessel God chose to use. By multiplying the loaves and fish to feed the masses, Jesus proved His deity and glorified His Father.
Nothing about a jail ministry is flashy or impressive. Today, as it was in biblical times, prisoners are ignored, rejected, forgotten, and despised. Just like the boy in John’s Gospel, society doesn’t expect God to use someone like an inmate to help build His kingdom. The Jailbird Ministry has a front-row seat to the miracle of small beginnings developing into God-sized outcomes.
For example, the ministry doesn’t expect inmates to respond once they’ve received one of our Bibles. Because stamps, envelopes, and pens can be costly and hard to come by inside, there’s no advantage in sending us a thank you letter. Yet, we receive countless thank you letters that show an unexpected depth of gratitude and a spiritual hunger. Each reply is a living illustration of how God works through those we often overlook or reject.
In obedience, and with meager financial or community support, Jesus increased our impact from ten Bibles a month to more than a hundred. A single Bible can become a lifeline. One Bible, in one cell, can become a Bible study, a prayer circle, a testimony, a transformed life, or a family changed. To date, we have delivered more than 5,000 Bibles to inmates yearning for a glimpse of Hope.
“If we desire to see fortresses fall, to see the gates of hell unhinged and laid in the dirt, to see pagan philosophies dismantled and the rampages of evil in our world torn down, we need to hear God’s word, believe it, and act in obedience to it.”
~ Alistair Begg ~
Whether it’s a boy’s small lunch or a few Bibles, God takes what we offer, multiplies it, and uses it to feed people who are starving for something only He can provide.
