During basic training, military recruits are able to attend worship services. This is the one hour during the week that these young men and women are able to relax, sit and not have to worry about the DI (Drill Instructor) or MTI (Military Training Instructor) bothering them. I suspect that many of these recruits nod off to sleep not because the sermon is boring or that they are not interested, but simply because they are exhausted.
No matter what domination, religious services at the training locations are supportive and welcoming places of refuge from the intensity of training. It is truly a mission to minister to these recruits, when they are under so much stress, homesick and tired.
While your recruit doesn’t have much time to read, you may choose to add some Bible passages to your letters.
New Additions:
“The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews, 11:1)
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim:2:3)
“With my God, I can scale a wall” (Psalms 18:29B)
“What can mortal man do to me?” (Psalms 56:11)
“Be still and know I am God” (Psalms 46:10)
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12)
“Do whatever is in your heart, for the Lord is always with you.”
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. “(Proverbs 29:18)
“Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.” (Colossians 3:23)
“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
“The things that are impossible with men are possible with God”.(Luke 18:27)
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
“And we pray this order that you may life a life worthy of the life worthy of the Lord and my please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12)
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grew tired and weary, and young men stumbled and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
“I thank Jesus Christ my Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered my faithful, appointing me to His service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
“3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 1 Philippians 3-6)
“12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;[a] but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved,[b] I do not consider that I have made it my own;[c] but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly[d] call of God in Christ Jesus.” (3 Philippians 12-14)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
I hope you find your favorite passage in the collection above. If not please, add your favorite and help us grow this resource for other parents and spouses with a loved one at basic training.
Project Write2Them 
My son is in Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood MO, I asked my Pastor for guidance he gave me your website. I love it!.
Cheryl,
That’s awesome! We depend on people sharing information about Project Write2Them and I am so glad that your pastor mentioned us.
I hope you enjoy our other posts too!
I know we currently have some families sending photos of daily devotionals to their loved ones at basic training! I thought this was a great idea.
Thank you for raising a son who is willing to serve our great country!
Thanks again for letting us know that we’re making an impact.
Sincerely,
My daughter leaves for Basic Training tomorrow at Ft. Leonard Wood. I gave her many of these scriptures, and I will be praying Ps. 91 over her. Please pray for her protection, guidance and her help in need. I’m going to miss her so much….
How about Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. “
Thank you for suggesting this verse! I am going to update the blog post now.
Helen
My grandson is at Paris Island for Boot Camp I write him every day I love this site gives me excellent Bible verses to send him for encouragement he writes back he says he loves the church services he loves the Bible verses for encouragement . Asked that I keep putting them in his letters ,for him pray for our military every day
OH! Typo! That should be “bear” not “ear”. Sorry. Saw it just as I hit Post Comment.
As pressure and stress ear down on me, I find joy in your commands.
~Psalm 119:143
My grandson is in basic training right now. Graduates September 2019
“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.”
Philippians 4:13 ERV
https://www.bible.com/406/php.4.13.erv
God bless him and all who serve our great country!
Here are my verses I have already sent. My recruit say she LOVES the church service and loves the verses I send at the top of every letter. I decided to write the verse at the top in the margin so she can reference it easily in the future. You can look them up on biblegateway.com for easy reference:1John 4:4, 2Cor 12:9-10, Deut. 31:6, Eph 4:29, Eph 6: 13-18, Eph 6:10, Is 40:31, James 1: 2-4, Jer. 29:11, Matt 11:28-29, Matt 19:26, Phil 4:13, Phil 4:6, Ps 118:14, Ps 144:1, Ps 22:19, Ps 23:1-6, Ps 27:13, Ps 27:1-3, Rom 12:2, Rom 5:3-5, Rom 8:18
Leassia,
I am so glad your daughter is enjoying the church services! My son really enjoyed them, too.
That’s a great idea to put the reference where she can easily find it and look it up in her Bible.
Thank you so much for the additional bible verses!
We’ll get these researched and posted.
Helen
My grandson leaves for Paris Island Monday Aug 1st. I worry about him in this crazy world. I have been sending him scriptures since I knew he was really going!! As I send them to him, it helps strengthen me as well.
May God bless you both! Your letters and encouragement will help him more than you can imagine. I encourage you to write often! I know the letters I wrote that my son read them over and over again.
Please keep me posted on all verses. The are very inspirational and encouraging .
Thank you
I absolutely love these! My best friend is going to boot camp tomorrow and these verses gave me so much hope and strength. I can’t wait to receive his first letter so I can send these to him!
Thank you for these verses! My daughter left for Parris Island on August, 10th. It helps me to write the verses. I miss her so much.
This is awesome site; my daughter left for basic July 7th; I have been sending her a letter every day with a verse for strength/courage. She said she loves them and they are very encouraging and comforting. I couldn’t tell if this was on the list but it is one of my favorites. “Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Here is a few more: Samuel 22:33
It is God who arms me with Strength and Keeps my way secure.
Psalm 27:1
When we face insurmountable challenges, we can turn to the all-powerful Creator God. His strength and renewal can help us face our fears and do the impossible
Was not sure how to get these on the above list. Thanks
Lynn
Lynn,
Thank you for adding to our list of bible verses. I will get these added to the main list today or tomorrow!
Good luck to your daughter at basic training!
Best regards,
Helen
Thank you very much for the scriptures. Our son just left for Ft. Jackson, S.C. and we want to write many letters to encourage him during basic training. Here is a scripture that I have recently sent to him from Deuteronomy 31:8 “The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
HI Kelly,
Thank you for adding to our collection. I will add this after I finish my response to you.
One of the only times our sons and daughters will not be bothered by their drill instructors or training instructors is when they are attending chapel or church services.
I remember witnessing the supportive role the faith community played in the lives of these young men and women when we attended services with our son after basic training graduation.
Good luck to your son!
Best regards,
Helen
Kelly,
My son just left for Ft. Jackson, too! This is his third week to be gone. These verses will strengthen him and I am including them in a letter now. Praying for comfort for your family and strength and protection for your son.
This is a fantastic resource, thank you for assembling such a great collection of encouraging verses. Our daughter is a Parris Island now for USMC Boot Camp. I have been writing her every day, and always put a Bible verse at the end of my letters to serve as encouragement. I was hoping to find a good source and found this page. Thank you again for sharing! Karen
Thank you so much for doing this. I have twin sons, one will leave this week and another will leave in less than a month. I raised both boys to walk with God and now they are not. I will use these scriptures when I write to them and also praying they will remind them of their foundation. Thanks so much for doing this list.
Thank you so much for these scriptures. My son left on October 27th. It has been very difficult for me letting go. I have needed and relied on my faith in our Heavenly Father for the peace to get me through until I hear from him. He is training at Fort Benning, which is over 800 miles from me. Before he left, he received a Bible and I marked for him Philippians 4:13, which is my scripture to live by and I know that with Christ, he will have the strength to succeed. Once I have an address and am able to write, I will include a scripture for him with each letter, to encourage him further through this journey. Once again, thank you so much.
Thank you for the inspirational bible verses. My son left for basic training October 1st I miss him so much. he is in the army training at Fort Benning just a few hours up the road from where we live. I hope he can hear my prayers and feel our support. These verses will help him I know. With Gods peace and love. Lee Ann
Thank-you so much for these verses. I am a youth leader at my church. I will be sending these to one of our youth, who became a new believer in Christ, right before he left for boot camp. He will definately need these encouraging words
Thank you so much for these Bible verses. My son left for basic training 10 days ago and although I have written him several times already, I know these will encourage him very much.
Thank you so much for these Bible verses. My son left for basic training 10 days ago and although I have written him several times already, I want to many ways to encourage him.
Thank you so much for this. My husband is in basic training at Fort Sill, OK. I am encouraged by these verses and I hope he will be as well. I am enclosing many of them in my next letter to him. I know it’s hard for him to be away from me and our son, but hopefully these verses will bring him some encouragement.
THANK YOU for these verses, they are just perfect and I didn’t have to do the research to find just the right one. I really appreciate reading through the comments as well. My daughter just finished her week of in-processing for Basic Training starting the real hard stuff now! She is in the Army. I’m so excited for her and worried at the same time. THANKS AGAIN, ~T
Thank you so much for the positve verses. My son is in BCT in the Army. Also have a Marine deployed. So we always li have positve quotes and definitely bible verses. Praying for ALL our military
Joy,
Wow, two currently serving! I hope your deployed Marine arrives back in the States soon. Those deployments are tough on us Moms and Dads. I am always offering up little prayers throughout the day for our military, too.
I am glad you found the Bible verses helpful!
Good luck to your son at Basic Training!
Helen
I love this! I will be going to basic training soon and this helps!
Another great verse is
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
Thank you for this site and verses. My son has been gone a week now for USMC. I miss teriblly. I will share the verses with him and they help me as well.
Karen,
I am glad you found the verses helpful. It is hard to see our children leave the nest, especially when they’re entering military service! No one can prepare you this day and it seems so far away when you are bringing them home from hospital and then suddenly (lol) it’s 18 years later!
You definitely should connect with Marineparents.com and link over to their site for new recruit families. They are great resource and I am sure that you will find other moms of Poolies (what Marine recruits are called during boot camp). Another great source of support is the National Association of Military Moms and Spouses at http://www.nammas.org.
Good luck to you and your son!
Helen
I wanted to send this site to a friend who’s son is leaving & when I went to the NAMMAS website & it is for a free checking account in Germany!
Where is the mistake?
Donna,
Unfortunately, NAMMAS is no longer operating as a support organization for military moms and spouses.
Thank you for alerting me to the fact that link is still in that blog. I will go in and change it immediately.
What service branch is your friend’s son entering? I know of several support groups …hmmm, time for a new blog!
Helen
Thank you for this. My son is at boot camp at Ft Benning. He went to church as a child but then stopped going. We just received a letter from him that said he is going to mass there and reading the bible. I am going to include some of these in letters of encouragement from a very proud mom. Thanks,
Kathy
Kathy,
I am glad that you found the bible verses helpful! You should definitely be proud of him! Good job for raising a son who is willing to serve and protect our country, Mom!
My son also started attending Mass again when he went through Air Force BMT at Lackland AFB! He said it was the only time during Basic Training that no one bothered you.
We attend with him the weekend of graduation and the priest and lay musicians were absolutely tremendous with encouraging words for each group of Airmen Basics from the newly arrived to the graduates.
It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about those young men and women, many away from home for the first time and under so much stress to learn and perform, receiving such support and positive messaging that they would indeed get through the training! What a wonderful ministry these people offer to our sons and daughters.
You might want to check out the title=”National Association of Military Moms and Spouses” target=”_blank”>www.nammos.org.. It’s a great source of information and support.
Good luck to your son and you too!
Helen
My son is leaving in less than a week for Army basic training, thank you for this, I am printing them out and using them each time I write to him. I appreciate it!
Hi Cindy,
I am glad you found the bible verses helpful! I know that your son will enjoy having some inspiration in each letter.
Where is going for basic training?
Best wishes to you both,
Helen
This is my sons first week at basic training. In doing a search on the web on how to best support him, I ran across your site and thought I would share….One of my favorite passages is:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Cari,
Thank you for adding this to our collection. This is a strong and powerful passage and absolutely perfect for our young men and women going through training and if fact throughout their out military career.
I know as a mom that it is not easy to see our children leave home and enter the service. We are proud of their decision but concerned too.
Thank your son at BMT graduation for us!
Best wishes,
Helen
Thank you for this site,i am copying these to send to my grandson.He is in training for the USMC.THANKS SO MUCH!
Hi Kathy,
I am glad that you found the bible verses helpful. It is so important to keep positive messages of support going to our loved ones while they are at boot camp or basic training. I am sure that your grandson will enjoy your letters…there is nothing better than hearing your name called at Mail Call.
Semper Fi,
Helen
Thank you so much! These are very helpful! My son is in basic training at Ft. Benning GA and I have been looking for scriptures to include in his letters. God Bless you!
Janice,
Thank you for the taking the time to let us know that our post was helpful to you. I am always looking for positive messages to send along to our servicemen and women. If you have any favorite scripture, please post them to them our blog!
You must be very proud your son. Not many young people are willing to serve our country today, so you did good Mom!
Please let him know that we appreciate his service to our nation.
Thanks,
Helen