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HISTORY

Ernie Hollands was born in 1930 in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada).  He lived in poverty, and had an absence of love and guidance in his home.  He began a life of crime at a very early age.  By age 9 he was stealing guns and ammunition.  By age 12 he was placed in a reform school.  By age 16 he was in prison for crimes such as B&E (breaking & entering), bank robbery, and attempted murder of a police officer.  In total Ernie spent 25 years of combined sentences in prisons across Canada and the U.S.  He escaped from prison five times, and was labelled a "habitual criminal."


It seemed as if there was no hope for a man like Ernie Hollands.  Yet something was about to change.  While he was in prison, Ernie began to make fish flies.  And in 1975 a sports store owner named Grant Bailey began to reach out to Ernie.  He offered to buy fish flies from Ernie to sell in his sports store in Pembroke, Ontario.  Mr. Bailey showed Ernie the love and grace of God, and told him of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Ernie was caught on his own hook.  It wasn't long before Ernie placed his heart in God's hands and committed his life to Jesus Christ.
By an incredible miracle the chains were broken in 1976 when Ernie was miraculously released from prison!  His first job was working in Bailey's Sports store, where he helped Mr. Bailey and continued to make his fish flies.  Soon Ernie began working with troubled teens on the streets of Pembroke.  And eventually he was speaking in schools, meetings, churches, and prisons everywhere, telling people about the love of God that had transformed his life completely.  Throughout the years Ernie has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people in Canada, the U.S., and many countries of the world, including the United Kingdom, Bermuda, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, and the continent of Africa.  Everywhere he went he testified that Jesus Christ has the power to change lives.  If God can change the life of a convict named Ernie Hollands, He can change yours!

Ernie visiting a prison in the Ukraine

  

Signing autographs

Inmates listening to Ernie give his testimony

 

Meeting with an ex-convict in Japan

Bringing Christmas treats to inmates at a
prison in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

HEBRON MINISTRIES:

Ernie began writing about his amazing life story. His first book, called Hooked, was released in 1982.

He then established Ernie Hollands Hebron Ministries, which was incorporated in 1983. That same year the Hebron Farm was opened, a place dedicated to helping people receive freedom through a relationship with God. The farm was expanded and relocated to London, Ontario in 1986.

In 1991 Ernie's second book, Prison Chains Broken, was released. Since that time it has been translated into French, Braille and Indonesian.

Hooked has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Lithuanian.

To meet the challenges of prison inmates in a new millennium, the book Free At Last was released Easter 2002, presenting the life-changing stories of four men and a married couple who had experienced addictions and incerceration.


From 1977 to the present the ministry carries on correspondence with prison inmates all over the world, sharing God's love with them. In 1996 Ernie passed away, but his wife Sheila has continued this vital ministry to this day.
The Hollands family in 1990
 Ernie Hollands, 1930-1996
 

You can view more about Hebron Ministries' books on our Products page!
Copyright © Ernie Hollands Hebron Ministries Inc.