Anderson Heard
Mailbox Bible Club: Displaying a Heavenly Father’s Persistent Love by Jeanette Windle “Because of my studies in God’s Word, I’ve learned I don’t have to let the past haunt me. God loves me and wants to hear from me.” MBBC member, New Jersey prison. BCM missionary Lenny Ferm was a factory worker active in his local church when he got involved in “Our Father’s Persistent Love,” an outreach ministry to inmates in Trenton State Prison. A prodigal from God himself until his midthirties, Lenny was burdened for other prodigals searching to return to their heavenly Father. Dozens of prisoners were coming to Christ. Some would never leave the harsh environment of prison. Others would soon be released and need to start life anew on the outside. How could he disciple
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these new Christians so that they would not fall back into wrong lifestyles that had landed them behind bars? Lenny was still searching for an answer when he met the visiting mother of another church member. Known affectionately as “Aunt Bea” to all her correspondents, Betty Majors was New Jersey coordinator for the Mailbox Bible Club, an outreach of Bible Centered Ministries International that provided free Bible correspondence courses for all ages. Her materials proved just the solid Bible teaching Lenny’s prison students needed. At first Lenny submitted names for Aunt Bea to send material. But before long he was involved himself in the MBBC outreach, not just with New Jersey prisoners, but across the US. In 2000 Lenny and his wife, Thomasine, took over the