Memorial Day weekend 2013 is one I will always remember. Big summer holidays
are often deadly around our area of Grand Lake, and this holiday was no different.
I received a phone call just after supper that a chaplain was needed. A couple of young adults home from college had died in a boating accident, and a chaplain needed to accompany a lake patrol officer to inform one of the families.
The family was quite well-known in our community. All death notifications are hard, but we knew this one would be especially difficult. The parents had no clue what to expect as we knocked on their door, but they knew it was bad news when they opened the door and saw the word “chaplain” on my badge.
As the officer and I explained the situation and tried to deliver comfort, another more seasoned chaplain showed up from the local hospital to offer some assistance.
I was grateful.
In January 2008, my family moved to a small town in the northeast corner of Oklahoma to start a church. It was my wife, my eight-month-old son, and me. We knew no one in Grove, Oklahoma. I had never pastored before and had never planted a church. I reached out to other church planters for advice. One was church planter Howard Gwartney. He had been an Okie for many years, so he was familiar with our area and its unique culture.
When you move to a new community and have no real “place” of employment, or any other way to engage with new people, connections and inroads can be difficult. Pastor Gwartney suggested I serve as a law enforcement chaplain in my new town. I had never done that before either, so I asked other local pastors if there were any chaplains. I quickly learned the local police chief was Roman Catholic and was told he was not interested in a chaplain corp. Having already scheduled a meeting with the chief, I decided to speak with him anyway. To my surprise, he was excited about helping me get the training I needed to serve as a chaplain. We soon became close friends while serving the community together.
Serving as a local law enforcement chaplain opens the door for ministry to a multitude of hurting people in the community. Most of the time I deliver news about a deceased loved one and help the survivors cope with the shock of death and take the necessary next steps. Sometimes, I’m there just to provide a listening ear for an officer who needs a safe place to share about challenges on the job or at home. Serving as a chaplain has helped me connect with my community better than I ever could as an outsider.
Chaplaincy also has opened doors for me to help my community beyond my role as a police chaplain. I helped start and now serve on the county sheriff chaplain corps. I serve as the chaplain for our local Civil Air Patrol Squadron, providing the opportunity to meet more local young people and their families. In addition, I am on call regularly as a chaplain for the local hospital.
I believe working as a chaplain can make you a better pastor. I have been able to grow in my ability to minister to all types of people — people who don’t look like me, who don’t see things the way I do, and who might never come through the doors of a church on Sunday.
Working as a chaplain truly has given me the inroad into my community Pastor Gwartney said it would. After 17 years, I often run into those I have helped through my chaplaincy ministry. Some connections even helped plant our church.
I must be honest; a chaplain’s work isn’t easy. I can still hear the cries of those parents when I told them their daughter wasn’t coming home after the boating accident. Nobody likes seeing the chaplain at their door during times of tragedy, but later, they are grateful. I have been able to accomplish some tremendous ministry through this unexpected door God opened.
I know local chaplaincy isn’t the right fit for everyone, but what about you? How is God is calling you to serve your local community? I hope you will obey His leading.
About the Writer: Sam Smith is the founding pastor of Foundation Free Will Baptist Church in Grove, Oklahoma. He is an alumnus of Southeastern Free Will Baptist College, devoted husband to Jennifer, and proud father of Colton (18) and Savannah (15).
