Would you like to be a teen penpal?

                                                                                                                                                                 Vol. XXIII, No. 2, February 2010

Over the past 17 years the Fellowship of Baptist Educators has sponsored a missions activity among high school and middle school students, known as "Christian Corresponders" under the direction of John Carter. John is retiring from that position but will remain on board to work with the new Director, Kellie Ziesemer for at least this school year.

The name of the project is also changing. The name “Universal Pen Pal Project” has been selected in order to be more acceptable in countries where mission work is restricted. Although the name has changed, the mission remains the same. Over the years thousands of Christian young people have become pen pals with foreign students who are taking English. The Chinese teachers encourage their students to participate in this activity in order to practice their English skills. For many North American students it provides a way to share their Christian faith in a country where mission work is restricted and are able to be a Christian influence in the lives of young people overseas who otherwise might never be exposed to the Gospel. The greatest number of overseas participants are in China.

The project has been adopted by Sunday school classes and other Christian groups as a missions outreach. While most of the correspondence is now done by e-mail, students overseas who do not have access to computers will be able to correspond by hard copy (air mail). As always, hundreds of Christian young people in North America will be needed to answer both types of letters and become penpals with their counterparts overseas.

Any Christian group (or individual) in grades 7-12 that would like to participate is invited to contact Kellie Ziesemer by e-mail at universalpenpalproject@yahoo.com and send the following information:

    Name of church or group

    Name, postal address, e-mail address, and phone number of leader

    For each student participating, give name, gender, grade level (7 through 12) and e-mail address.

This information should be sent as soon as possible. It will then be sent to English teachers in other countries who have requested if for their students, and the North American students should soon receive e-mails from their Chinese pen pals. The Fellowship of Baptist Educators will send further suggestions to all participating groups on how to handle the correspondence and how to witness in a way that is acceptable in the Chinese schools. For further information contact Kellie Ziesemer at the above e-mail address or by phone at (513) 732-2111.