David, once a defiant atheist, is a living example of what God can do through a CBSI prison-based Bible study.
Eight years ago, David was successful in the insurance business. He lived in a lovely southern California home. But he despised Christians. All believers he had known, he says, were self-righteous and judgmental. He enjoyed arguing with them, pushing them to anger using sarcasm and physical intimidation.
As a sign of his defiance, on May 23, 2006, David had his neck tattooed with the words Only God Will Judge Me. In his view God did not exist, so David was essentially stating his rebellion. No one would ever judge him, he thought, not even God.
But he was wrong. Two days after he got his tattoo, David went to Tijuana, Mexico, with his friend, Amanda. There, the pair was arrested for the illegal possession of drugs. As they were being taken to the prison, David assured Amanda that he would accept full responsibility. She was released in 90 days. He was tried and sentenced to five years in La Mesa Prison in Tijuana, Mexico.
Just to get out of a crowded cell for two hours a week, David started attending prison-based church services. To his surpr i se, he enjoyed them. When the church leaders heard about CBSI, they made it available to inmates, too. The class started in January 2007 with Ken Gerard, a San Diego-area CBS class member, as its Class Leader.
As David studied the Bible in CBSI along with other American inmates, he felt drawn to Christ. Six months later, after coming to faith, David was baptized in the prison.
In March of 2010 Amanda contacted David, saying Christ had turned her life around, too. As she visited him at La Mesa every Sunday for the next year and a half, they discovered a deep shared relationship with the Lord. Over time, they fell in love and eventually they were married in the prison.
David was released on May 25, 2011. He and Amanda now live in Orange County, California. They attend church regularly and have many opportunities to tell their God-glorifying stor y to attentive audiences.
Ken Gerard, is now Director of Prison Ministries for CBSI in the Americas. God has used him to de-velop 3 classes in La Mesa Prison, 9 in Panama prisons, and 14 in the Dominican Republic. The success of these classes, measured in transformed lives, has led CBSI ministry leaders to ask God to expand CBSI’s role in prisons in the Americas.
Two men, Joe Preston and Doug Maltman of San Diego, help lead the La Mesa Prison class. Ken prays that the Lord will give others in CBS that same vision for correctional institutions in their communities. God’s Word and CBSI study methods clearly have great impact on the lives of inmates. “There is tremendous joy in seeing God make this happen,” Ken said.