"They come out of the book knowing how to pray, knowing what it means to have faith, [and] knowing the importance of being baptised."
Sanders, a self-described evangelist, said that at many evangelism events people just raise their hands, come up to the altar, and are prayed for. But he wanted to go a step further and put a "solid biblical foundation underneath their spiritual life".
"Instead of just a thousand people raise their hands here and there, that's good too, but I think people need a little more to get into what we would call the discipleship process," Sanders said.
Using the Purple Book, which some have praised as a Bible institute in a book, the ministry has been able to bring the Gospel into many poor communities in Baja as well as prisons and rehab centres.
"What it is doing is it is allowing them to have a brand new start," Sander said. "Again, without the Bible it is a worthless tool, but with the Bible it is giving them vital information and knowledge that they may not be able to extract themselves through their own reading of the Bible."
On average, it takes three to four months to complete the Purple Book programme. However, groups are given free reign over the amount of time to complete the workbook. Some groups have taken one year while others have finished within one month.
The passionate evangelist noted that no Christian who believes that the Bible is the foundation of faith should have a problem with the Purple Book because it does not bring in denominational doctrine, but only focuses on biblical doctrine.
The age range of participants is wide, with the youngest around 10-years-old and the oldest a 74-year-old woman who has completed the programme at least twice.
Ministry leaders noted that the reason for the programme success besides the book itself is the "aura of accountability". BCM staff follow through on their commitment to visit the leader of each Purple Book group once a month.
Volunteer leaders, which include pastors, guide groups of 25 or more people to complete the Purple Book programme.
Last year, BCM surpassed its goal of enrolling 10,000 people in the Purple Book program. This year, BCM doubled the goal to 20,000 people and has already enrolled 2,000 people despite the new counting period having only begun on July 30.
"Mexico is a country that is ripe for revival," concluded Sanders, who encouraged attendees at a recent leadership conference to start seeing Tijuana (a city in Baja California) as being one of the most holy cities in the world.
"That almost seems contradictory because Tijuana has such a reputation," he acknowledged. "[But] we could end up seeing a city that has a reputation of not being so great become a very holy city because there are a lot of hungry hearts for the Word of God and we're meeting that need."
BCM is seeking prayer partners who can pray for the following needs:
BCM staff to continue to be effective and protected by God
House-building ministry to continue to be effective
Purple Book discipleship programme to continue to grow
Doors to remain open in Baja California for the Gospel to spread rapidly
Financial donors
On the Web: www.bajachristian.org
