Local man using martial arts, religion to reach out to TYC youths

Cindy V. Culp of the Waco Tribune writes about Victor Marx, whose ministry, All Things Possible, runs programs ranging from pen-pals for juvenile inmates through martial-arts training and a football camp for troubled teens. His calling to the work came through contact with the inmates themselves:

It all started when Marx was asked to speak at a Colorado youth prison. He had become known in Christian circles for his gripping presentations, which blend martial arts with the story of how he became a Christian after an abusive childhood.
Marx really didn’t want to go to the prison, he said. Talking to youths who had gone through the same type of painful experiences he had was not appealing.

But when he saw how the boys at the prison opened up as he told his story, he was hooked, Marx said. He began traveling to youth prisons across the country, and in short order quit his job at Focus on the Family to start a full-time youth ministry.

Marx eventually moved to Waco, in part because of the concentration of youth prisons in the area. He originally wanted to operate a full-time school for troubled teens at the old Parkview campus, but he abandoned that after many neighborhood residents voiced concern. Instead, All Things Possible has focused its effort at the Marlin unit, Marx said. Volunteers make weekly visits there and also hold a monthly event to which all inmates are invited.