CHRISTIAN PEN PALS VETERANS' MINISTRY

First, pray about it!  Writing to Veterans who are prison inmates through our program is not just a regular pen-pal relationship - it is a ministry.  We encourage you to begin and continue on with prayer as you reach out to our incarcerated Veterans. 

 Next, go HERE and complete a volunteer pen pal application. (If for some reason this form does not work or you have difficulties with it, please email me at CPPVETERANS@gmail.com.)  Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. 

 We will let you know as soon your application has been processed and approved.  We will then prayerfully match you with an incarcerated veteran who has requested a Christian pen pal.   We'll send you an email containing not only your Veteran's name (or names, if you'd like more than one!), but also a wealth of information about our program. Please make sure to read the email thoroughly and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.  Once you have confirmed receipt of your Veteran's address, we will send a note to the Veteran to let them know a pen-pal has been assigned.  WE WILL *NOT* UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THE INMATE ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER ABOUT YOU, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER THE PEN-PAL RELATIONSHIP BEGINS.  Your personal information is guarded with the utmost care:  your safety and confidentiality is paramount.

Send a letter of introduction to your Veteran as soon as possible - preferably within a week after receiving the address.  Many Veterans have been waiting a very long time to be matched with a penpal. 

The inmate must send us a completed application requesting a penpal.  Go HERE and print off a copy of the application and send it to your inmate (you may even want to print off extra copies to send - your inmate may have a friend or friends who would like to sign up, as well!).  If you have difficulty printing the application from the website, email me at CPPVETERANS@GMAIL.COM and I will send you an application form.  All information given to us by the inmates is confidential - we will not share their addresses with anyone who is not an approved Veterans' Ministry voluteer, nor will we ever publish their addresses publicly on the internet or in any other public medium.  This is for their safety and well-being.

There is a lot of wonderful information about pen-pal prison ministry on the main Christian PenPals website.  It is not veteran-specific, but there is a lot of knowledge about prison ministry that you can benefit from! 

There also is a Yahoo Ministry Support Group dedicated to the Christian PenPal Outreach.  Click HERE to view and join this wonderful group, and make friends with other pen-pal Volunteers! 

 If you would like more in-depth information and training with regards to prison pen-pal ministry, please EMAIL ME.  I will email you a copy of "Visit Prison in An Envelope," which is a publication originally produced by Prison Fellowship (no relation to us - it is a separate and distinct ministry).  Prison Fellowship no longer has a prison pen-pal ministry, and has graciously allowed Christian Pen Pal Outreach to use this material.  I found it to be enormously helpful when I got back into prison pen-pal ministry after a 15-year lapse!