Become a CPTer
CPT workers make up what we call the "Peacemaker Corps." Teams of trained Corps members enter emergency situations of conflict and areas of militarization in partnership with local peacemakers. Responding to Christ's radical call, they attempt to bring God's redemptive love to violent situations. Meet some of our CPTers....
Becoming a CPTer: Joining the Peacemaker Corps
Contact CPT's Personnel Coordinator if you are interested in serving a three-year term as a Peacemaker Corps member, either full-time or as a part-time Reservist (2-12 weeks a year).
Here are the next steps:
- DELEGATION: Join a CPT Delegation. Submit a "Short-Term Delegation Application" to CPT's Delegation Coordinator, Claire Evans, in the Chicago office. No special training is required for participation in a short-term delegation
- APPLICATION: Submit a completed "Peacemaker Corps Application" to CPT's Personnel Coordinator, Jessica Phillips, in the Chicago office. Application forms are accepted throughout the year. Applicants are interviewed and references contacted.
- TRAINING: Upon successful completion of a delegation, interview and reference check, applications will be invited to participate in CPT's intensive training program. Training is a continuation of the application process. Mutual discernment between CPT and the trainee regarding acceptance into the Peacemaker Corps occurs at the end of the training period.
Two Levels of Involvement: Full-time or Part-time
- Full-time Corps: Full-time Christian Peacemaker Corps members commit to a three-year term of service on CPT projects. When not on project site they live in their home communities and are available for short-term organizing, speaking, training, or other peace work. Housing during home leave is often provided by family, churches or friends.
- Reserve Corps: The Reserve Corps augments the work of the full-time Christian Peacemaker Corps by providing a larger pool of trained peacemakers who commit to working with CPT part-time (2 to 12 weeks each year) for three years. The Reserve Corps is designed for those persons who are committed to the work of CPT but are not able to be involved on a full-time basis.
The Work of the Corps
Teams of 2 to 12 persons join the efforts of local peacemakers facing imminent violence by:
- Providing a nonviolent presence with individuals or communities who are threatened
- Physically intervening to prevent violence
- Reporting on human rights abuses
- Planning and carrying out creative, nonviolent public responses to injustice
- Training others in nonviolent direct action
- Speaking and writing to media, interested groups, congregations, and organizations
Qualifications for Corps Members
Team members are selected to represent a range of ages, skills, life experiences, and ethnic backgrounds. CPT seeks applicants who are:
- at least 21 years of age
- deeply grounded in Christian faith
- committed to peacemaking
- experienced in nonviolent direct action
- adequately free from responsibilities in order to move into life-threatening situations on short notice
- willing to commit to three years of service
Members may also have special skills or significant experience in a particular cross-cultural setting.
Peacemaker Corps Objectives
Christian Peacemaker Corps members are sent to crisis settings within North America and overseas with the following objectives:
- To promote lasting peace by giving skilled, courageous support to peacemakers working in situations of conflict
- To inspire people and governments to discard violence in favor of nonviolent action as a means of settling differences
- To provide churches and communities with first-hand information and resources for responding to situations of conflict, and to urge their active involvement
- To interpret a nonviolent perspective to the media and broader society
Training the Corps
Applicants for both the Full-time
Corps and the Reserve Corps participate in an intensive, integrated, four-week
training course involving action, reflection, and
practice of a variety of peacemaking skills in the following areas:
- Biblical Basis for Nonviolence
- Spirituality and Faith for Peacemaking
- Public Witness and Nonviolent Direct Action
- Negotiation & Conflict Transformation Skills
- Ministry of Presence
- Cross-cultural Work and Undoing Racism
- Working in Teams
- Organizing and Communication Skills
CPT conducts Peacemaker Corps trainings in Winter and Summer for groups of 10-15 full-time and Reserve Corps applicants in Chicago. Regional trainings are arranged when 10-15 people from an area are ready to join the Reserve Corps.
Supporting the Corps
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CPT operates on the generous contributions
of many committed supporters. Reserve corps members are expected to raise the
costs of their participation. Full-time corps members receive a subsistence
living stipend based on need, and are also expected to solicit support during
their home leave periods.
Support team members work with Corps members in developing a local support community
to undergird Corps members through prayer, personal encouragement, and by assisting
with media work and raising funds. Involving others in this effort broadens
the base of awareness and commitment to CPT’s ministry.
The Challenge of Peacemaking
"Nonviolent resistance to tyrants, oppressors and brutal invaders is not for fools or cowards. It demands courage and daring of the highest order. It requires discipline, training and a willingness to face death. Are there tough, brave volunteers for that kind of costly, demanding battle? Would the nonviolent troops be available to be trained by the thousands and then tens of thousands to form disciplined Christian Peacemaker Teams ready to walk into the face of danger and death in loving confrontation of injustice and oppression?"
(Ron Sider, Nonviolence: The
Invincible Weapon, p. 95)
For more information:
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Jessica Phillips, Personnel Coordinator
Box 6508
Chicago, IL 60680-6508
Tel. 773 277-0253
Fax. 773 277-0291
Email: personnel [at] cpt [dot] org