A growing number of pastors are serving their communities through volunteer chaplaincy ministries.
Steve Johnson serves as pastor of Union Springs Baptist Church, Randolph, in Chilton Baptist Association and also is one of the volunteer chaplains for the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office.
In the first 18 months of the chaplaincy program, Johnson has been on death calls and ride-alongs with deputies, counseled family members involved in crises, taken part in hostage situations and made personal ministry contacts to employees in the sheriff’s department.
“You can be blown away by what you see,” Johnson said.
When the need arises, the sheriff’s office dispatcher makes contact with a volunteer chaplain like Johnson, who has his own two-way radio, carries a cell phone and wears a pager. On the scene he also wears a badge that identifies him as a chaplain for the sheriff’s office.
Erric Price, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office lead investigator and liaison for the volunteer chaplains, praised the chaplaincy program and called Johnson “a God-send for us.”
Lynn Hughston, pastor of Tates Chapel Baptist Church, Centre, in Cherokee Baptist Association volunteers as a hospital chaplain to serve his community, as he has done the last 11 years for the Cherokee Medical Center.
Hughston is on call for a week at a time on a rotating schedule with 8–10 other volunteer chaplains.
“I find serving as a volunteer chaplain is fulfilling,” he said. “It gives me an opportunity to help people in some small way at a critical time in their lives.”
When a Crossville volunteer firefighter died in the line of duty in 2009, the fire department’s sergeant recognized the need for chaplaincy ministry and invited Zach Richards to fill the role of volunteer chaplain for the Crossville Fire Department. Richards is pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church, Crossville, in DeKalb Baptist Association
“When I arrive on the scene I check with those in command, find out who has been involved, help calm people down and assist firefighters with the stress of their jobs,” he said.
Richards understands the importance of his volunteer chaplaincy ministry. “Emergency workers tend to be neglected until someone has a fire,” he said. “These workers make personal sacrifices and endure time away from their families. Our Crossville firefighters know I love them, pray for them and that I am there for them.”
Bill Stephens, who recently retired as pastor of Vernant Baptist Church, Magnolia Springs, in Baldwin Baptist Association received his credentials as an Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain in 2005 and has been deployed numerous times since then.
He also is serving as a volunteer chaplain for Marketplace Ministries, a chaplain ministry to businesses. He ministers to employees at a Mobile crane company and a hotel in Pensacola, Fla., as well as to long distance drivers with a Mobile trucking company.
Stephens also takes great pride in serving as a volunteer chaplain for the Mobile post of the Alabama State Troopers since 2007.
But that’s not all. Since 1982, Stephens has been serving as a volunteer hospital chaplain for four hospitals in Foley, Fairhope, Mobile and Pensacola, Fla.
Richards believes that pastors interested in volunteer chaplain ministry should first pray for God’s leadership. “As a pastor you must have an understanding congregation that is willing to allow you to focus your efforts on people other than those in your church,” he said.
Price encourages pastors who have an interest in volunteer chaplaincy to talk with officials at their local police and sheriff’s departments, noting that city and county fire department chaplaincy is a needed area of ministry.
Johnson warned, “Not all chaplains are cut out to be preachers, and not all preachers are cut out to be chaplains,” while Stephens said that those who do choose to serve will broaden the horizons of their pastoral ministry.
Chaplaincy credentials and training are essential for serving as a volunteer chaplain. Johnson obtained his chaplaincy certification through the International Conference of Police Chaplains and was also credentialed as an Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain.
Hughston received his hospital chaplain credentials from training sessions through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a patient privacy emphasis created by the U.S. Congress in 1996.
Richards was credentialed as an Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain, endorsed as a chaplain by the North American Mission Board and received additional chaplaincy training through the Alabama Fire College.
Information about Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief chaplaincy training can be obtained through the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief website, www.sbdr.org.
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