USA (MNN) — Christmas is a time of joy, love, togetherness and cheer. But for those spending the Christmas season in prison, it’s the most difficult time of the year. It’s a time when deeper loneliness and depression can overcome them as the forgotten ones.
But God is using Crossroad Bible Institute’s annual Send-A-Card program to powerfully bring the joy of Christ and Christmas into a very dark place.
Two years ago, friends of Crossroad Bible Institute helped send 25,581 cards. Last year, that number almost doubled, up to 43,325! Some inmates were able to receive more than one card!
This year, Crossroad Bible Institute hopes to be able to send even more Christmas Cards to prisoners. And they need your help. It’s a great project to do with small groups, day school and Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, families and churches. Anyone is invited to participate and touch an inmate with the love and joy of Christ.
Those who receive the cards are students being discipled through Crossroad Bible Institute’s faith-based re-entry program lessons. At Christmas, CBI takes the cards you’ve sent and includes them with the students’ lessons. There are students in the program in every US state.
The deadline to have cards into CBI is November 8th, less than 4 weeks away.
Here are the detailed guidelines that must be followed in order for prison facilities to accept the cards:
*Select an English or Spanish Christmas card. Important: Do not include cards or envelops with foil, stickers, glitter, glue pop-up parts or paint. And please, NO homemade layered cards.
*You may add a special greeting, encouragement or Bible verse. (CBI will personalize it with a student’s name.)
*Sign ONLY your FIRST name or “A brother/sister in Christ.” No unsigned cards will be accepted.
*Place the card in its blank envelop but DO NOT SEAL. Each card must fit into a 6×9 envelop. Do not put postage stamps on the envelopes.
*Mail the card(s) and blank envelop to CBI between now and November 8.
For more information on this meaningful Christmas outreach, go to CBI’s website by clicking here.
