Rob Baskin: Founder of Bridges to New Life
Rob Baskin was a missionary kid who rebelled at sixteen and lived the life of a vagrant for the next fifteen years. At age thirty, God used a neighbor to lead Rob back to the Lord. He started studying the scriptures and learned the radical message of Jesus: to look after the marginalized and the forsaken.
A short time later he was invited to help with chapel services and lead a Bible study in the Kamloops Regional Correction Centre. “The passion to start Bridges came out of the Bible study,” Rob states. “Realizing that there was no organization or church, or even people from the church interested in supporting people coming out of prison, God gave me a passion to do something about it.”
Rob worked from his home doing prison visitations for the next ten years. God opened the door for Rob, when his Dad met Monty Lewis on an airplane in the Maritimes. Monty, who was running a prison ministry, became a mentor to Rob and introduced him to others. Rob attended conferences and received community chaplaincy training. When the new prison director made changes to the chaplaincy program, Rob says, “It helped push me to do aftercare. I really think it was part of God’s plan.”
Rob formed a board of directors. They drafted a constitution and registered as a charitable nonprofit organization. With their first ten-dollar donation, Bridges to New Life was officially open for business.
In 2000, Rob quit his job as a carpenter for the Vernon School District and went building shopping. They found a building in a good location and approached the owner. He laughed and said, “How you going to pay for it with only five thousand dollars?” With God’s help, they secured the deal and set to work building offices, a computer work station, and a five-bed safe-house for parolees.
With over 40 volunteers Bridges provides: prison chapel services and visitations, pen-pal correspondence, mentoring, recreation activities, a drop-in center, a free store and a 12-step program for addictions.
Now, after almost thirty years of prison ministry and getting close to retirement, Rob marvels at God’s faithfulness. The high rate of recidivism makes this a very difficult ministry. Thankfully, there are success stories like Ron Short.
Rob met Ron in prison. He helped Ron commit to the Lord and get baptized. When Ron was released he kept in touch with Rob and eventually started a Residential Recovery Program called Wings as Eagles. Today, Ron is a pastor and leads the Dwelling Place Church in Cranbrook, B.C.
In thinking about the future Rob would like to expand into the lower mainland and provide aftercare services there. Through his work, Rob has touched thousands of lives. He is living proof of what God can do with a life surrendered to him.
For more information about Rob Baskin or Bridges to New Life, go to www.BridgesTNL.org
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