Inmate Penpals...

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Wasn't sure where to post this.. and this may be a strange question but is it safe to be penpals with someone who is in prison? I was asked if I'd consider being a penpal to an inmate who is a new christian... But I'm not sure how I feel about it.. I don't have a PO address and would have to give my home address. Would appreciate opinions. Thanks! :)
 
Wasn't sure where to post this.. and this may be a strange question but is it safe to be penpals with someone who is in prison? I was asked if I'd consider being a penpal to an inmate who is a new christian... But I'm not sure how I feel about it.. I don't have a PO address and would have to give my home address. Would appreciate opinions. Thanks! :)

No it is not safe because you don't know them and plus they are in prison for a reason and
i don't want you getting hurt even know i haven't did any ministry with that but i do know they are in there
for a reason and if it's a Female that would be a different story but be careful who you get in contacted with because i know someone who has been in prison and they got killed i am just warning you to stay away from the males OK

with lots of Love
Churchlover
 
Hi i have much for sure to Say on this Topic....I did work in Prison Ministry for 3 years in a maine prison with both men and women many major rules apply.
1- you never can send money,postage stamps or anything not approved to them if you do it could cause legal problems for you.they never give up asking for money stamps ect......
2-you never can share more than whats going on only in a general way about church life can not give name of church at all nothing personal in ur spiritual or family life they can use the info agianist you.
3-Women should only write to women,men to men ,or they will play u in a romantic-romance way,seen it happen not good at all.
4-no personal information on where you live,home address,work address church address even,no phone numbers as well nothing on family members names-ages-ect. for every ones safety involed.
5-make no promises at all ever.
6-no phone call agreements if they star calling you you accept long distace calls very expensive at least 4-5 $ for 15 minutes ur phone bill gets high fast.
7-feel free to pray ,women are more emotional players to get what they want,with words,men can be to to women,do not go into that trap.
8-get pastoral adive before doing this or work in a prison ministry at least 6 months.for experince.

I work as a Holy Communion Misister at the the County Jail,love it even then i must be spiritually and socially careful i have been asked to mail letter s for imates --not legal i turn them in the letters to Staff Officers.Consider working with a Church Prison Ministy that is thevery best way to serve and help them.

I hope this imformation was helpful,agian get spiritual leadership counsel.
 
if you feel led to be a penpal then get a p.o box but pray about it first and see what GOD wants
 
Thanks so much for the advice! Pretty much confirmed what I've been thinking... Thanks for taking the time to respond! :)
 
Thanks so much for the advice! Pretty much confirmed what I've been thinking... Thanks for taking the time to respond! :)
your welcome and Sister ChurchLover told me of ur Thread and i came and wrote back to you right away bee blessed allway amen-eth....
 

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My advice is to definitely go through a Christian ministry and not to do it on your own. The inmate population ranges from serial murderer master manipulator all the way down to born again Christian people doing time on very low level one to three year stuff.

Chuck Colson runs prison fellowship and that ministry has a very good reputation. They seem to know what they're doing. You may want to contact them and work with them.

Prison Fellowship

Wasn't sure where to post this.. and this may be a strange question but is it safe to be penpals with someone who is in prison? I was asked if I'd consider being a penpal to an inmate who is a new christian... But I'm not sure how I feel about it.. I don't have a PO address and would have to give my home address. Would appreciate opinions. Thanks! :)
 
It is safER if you have a po box, but not totally safe. If you have children I wouldnt do it at all. You got some great advice on here, but women are sometimes more dangerous than men, which men have no idea about usually. One post is soooooooooo right. they never stop begging. also they usually forget their religion when they get out & end up back in prison. You have no way of knowing what they were in there for. most prisoners are just serving time for what they got CAUGHT doing. Oh I know of a few who shouldn't have had to go to prison anyway, but it's rare.Do you have a phone listed in your name? they are going to want to call u. if they have your # they can get your address. God bless.
 
Approach with caution...prison is gonna be a mixed bag, you don't know what each of them are in there for, or how mentally stable they are.
All the above posts brought up good points.
 
Also be aware many inmates fake a conversion to religion just to gain brownie points in the eyes of the prison system. They think it will help them get out sooner or get more rewards within the prison. My dad spent years as a guard in various prisons and saw this countless times.
 
Thanks again everyone! :) Think for now I'll stick with other penpals.. I appreciate all the helpful answers!
 
Wasn't sure where to post this.. and this may be a strange question but is it safe to be penpals with someone who is in prison? I was asked if I'd consider being a penpal to an inmate who is a new christian... But I'm not sure how I feel about it.. I don't have a PO address and would have to give my home address. Would appreciate opinions. Thanks! :)

I was once in the Nevada Kairos Prison Ministry and found it a very rewarding experience, but we would visit the prison—the inmates didn’t know where we lived. I, too, would think twice before allowing a prison inmate to know my home address. I would suggest you not let a male inmate have your address.
 
I would say a huge NO, I feel strong about this because my family went through a stalker situation, so anything like this throws up red flags to me, people are in prison for a reason, they can say they found God or anything else, but unless you are around them how do you know?