*Photos provided by Mississippi Army National Guard*

Pro Deo Et Patria

For God and Country

During the summer of 1775, a mere six weeks after the Continental Army was formed, General George Washington petitioned the Second Continental Congress to create what would soon become the Army Chaplain Corps. General Washington knew that his Soldiers would need “spiritual fortitude and moral strength” to persevere in the face of such tremendous odds. Since that day, more than 25,000 ministers have donned a uniform as a chaplain in the United States Army and carried out our core capabilities to nurture the living, care for the wounded, and honor the fallen.

One of my greatest aspirations as a chaplain is to model God’s continuing gospel message. When I joined the Army chaplaincy in 2015, God instilled a mission on my heart that guides me even today—be a visible reminder of the Holy. Remember when God instructed Joseph that his son was to be named Immanuel, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (Is. 7:14) and communicating to mankind one of the most important messages that we needed to hear: “God is with us” (Matt. 1:23). The last words that Jesus spoke, after His resurrection and before His ascension into Heaven, echoed this same message for all eternity: “I am with you” (Matt. 28:20b). Throughout the Bible, God continually reminds His people that He will be with them (e.g., Gen. 26:3, 31:3; Josh. 1:5; Jud. 6:16; 1 Kin. 11:38; Is. 43:2; Jer. 1:8; Hag. 2:4; Acts 18:10). The fact is that man does not like to be alone, and this certainly includes even the bravest of America’s warriors. Thus, a chaplain effectively serves as an incarnational reminder that Soldiers are not alone.

Ministry in the Military

Ministry in a military context shares many similarities with what we experience in our local church. Chaplains teach, preach, witness, counsel, admonish, and equip Soldiers toward spiritual maturity. Our setting is the primary difference. Most of my ministry never takes place in a chapel; rather, it is pastoral care provided in field environments where Soldiers train and fight. Jesus set the ultimate example in this regard, for He preached and taught more outside of synagogues (Matt. 5:1-7:28; Mark 2:16; Luke 5:1-39 and 6:17-19) than within (Matt. 4:23, Luke 13:10). He literally went into the “trenches” to meet the spiritually lost! Further, Jesus compassionately looked for opportunities to provide pastoral care, such as when He fed the large crowd (Matt. 14:13-21) and when He engaged the woman at the well (John 4:7-26).

For me, being an effective chaplain means fulfilling this same calling through ministry that is present with Soldiers, whether they are in the chapel for a worship service, on a tarmac awaiting transport, on the firing range honing marksmanship skills, in the maintenance bay cleaning equipment, or in the mess hall for a meal.

As you can imagine, many Soldiers incur significant physical, emotional, and spiritual stress as they defend our nation, especially as they separate from their families during deployments. Chaplains even often have amazing opportunities to care for Soldiers with different faith backgrounds and promote ecumenism that reflects the great love of Christ.

CH Edwards leads Communion with 2-114th FA.JPG

In the Mississippi Army National Guard, we train essentially one weekend a month and for a few weeks each summer. During these “drills,” my ministry is predominately counseling Soldiers who need to talk about issues in their lives so that they can remain actively engaged in their training. I also lead worship services so that Soldiers may exercise their freedom of religion. Our worship services are sometimes conducted in an armory classroom, but they most often occur in austere, field environments at sunrise or late at night. I am afforded opportunities to pray at meetings and frequently speak encouraging messages to formations of Soldiers. One of my main roles is to advise my commander about the impacts that our mission may have on our religion, morals, ethics, and morale. In recent months, one of my challenges (and opportunities) has been counseling Soldiers who are seeking religious accommodations to not receive the COVID-19 vaccination. This has prompted many, wonderful conversations about balancing our duty in medical preparedness with faith in our Almighty God for life and health.

MINISTRY PARTNERSHIP WITH FIRST BAPTIST STARKVILLE

First Baptist Starkville has been an incredible partner ever since God called me to this ministry. In military parlance, we call this a “combat multiplier” because my ministry is greatly enhanced through the support of First Baptist. One of the greatest moments of our partnership was working with Josh Rodgers to produce a “Words of the Day” devotion guide that I passed out to nearly 400 Soldiers during our National Training Center rotation in the grueling Mojave Desert during summer 2021. This booklet was printed on waterproof paper and provided a contextual, scriptural message that encouraged our Soldiers daily.

When we were deployed to the Middle East during 2018-19, FBC Starkville and other churches in the Golden Triangle Baptist Association donated over 10,000 k-cups of coffee to my “Dragon Java” coffee ministry, which kept an entire battalion of Soldiers fueled with great coffee. The Men’s Ministry of FBC also provided me a copy of Tony Evans’ Kingdom Man video series for a men’s Bible study that I led overseas. FBC also partnered with my wife, Lydia, who started a Deployed Spouses Support Group that met at our church on Wednesday nights. When the Mississippi Army National Guard was conducting COVID-19 testing in Starkville during 2020, Nathan Taylor and the Missions Committee worked with me to provide valuable refreshments for our Soldiers and Airmen working in the summer heat. Dr. Tom Jenkins has helped me gather music resources to help facilitate worship during our monthly chapel services. And Doug James has provided me with countless, camouflaged Gideon Bibles to pass out to our troops. And perhaps most important of all, countless saints of First Baptist have prayed for our safety and for a successful ministry.

In fact, prayer is the greatest way that our First Baptist church family can support our troops. Pray for safety in training, wisdom for our leaders, discernment for daily choices, success in our missions, and confusion to our enemies. For me, please pray that I can grow relationships to best counsel and care for Soldiers, preach the Word with boldness, and that God would bless me, for His glory, to be that visible reminder of the Holy. Combat multipliers, indeed!

Know of a ministry or community group’s service here at First Baptist that you think we should highlight in our next issue of Redefined? Tell us about it here!