In 1988 Stoltzfus became the first director of CPT, an organization initiated by historic peace churches to place volunteers trained in nonviolent action in conflict zones around the world. Stoltzfus developed a rigorous training program, established a volunteer pool made up of full-time "corps" members and part-time "reservists," and sought out international partners who were developing the use of nonviolent tactics to reduce levels of violence, militarism, and structural injustice in their communities. Over the next 17 years, Stoltzfus established projects in Haiti during the time of the US-backed coup over Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in the West Bank city of Hebron beginning in 1995 after the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, in Chiapas after the Acteal Massacre of 1997, in Colombia accompanying displaced peoples, in Iraq prior to the 2003 US invasion, and at various locations in North America, especially partnering with indigenous peoples.