Is there life after the military chaplaincy? Upon leaving the Air Force chaplaincy program, Chaplain Doan was struggling with what God wanted him to do with his ministry and the rest of his life. There were many doors that he could have gone through, but which one would lead to the will of God the Father. He was offered a full-time position at a hospital in California and a part-time position with the VA. After much prayer, he decided that the part-time position was actually the will of God. Chaplain Doan accepted this position and within three days of reporting to work he was offered a full-time VA position in another state. God had lead him to the right place at the right time for the right ministry. Below is his story in his own words of how God has confirmed this decision in giving him an overwhelming successfully ministry within the walls of the VA Hospital.
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Chaplain Doan |
“When I was assigned as Director of Pastoral Care at the Veterans Medical Center Illinois, a worship service was being provided every Sunday for those who remained hospitalized over the weekend. Even though the service was theoretically provided for patients, it was actually only attended by a handful of faithful volunteers from the community. It was these volunteers who had kept the service alive during the 6-month transition from the time the previous chaplain had retired and I had arrived. The patients for whom we were providing the service generally did not attend.
What could be the reason for such low worship attendance in this community on the northern edge of the Bible Belt? – that’s a question I began asking by informal survey. My investigation revealed that the patients are generally either too sick to get out of bed or are connected to electronic testing equipment which confines them to the ward. Many of them weren’t attending worship simply because they couldn’t!
Since they couldn’t come to the chapel, what if we took the chapel to them? Every patient room and every waiting area in this hospital has cable television, so there had to be a way to televise the chapel worship service throughout the hospital. As God would provide, our chief engineer “just happened to have” a video camera and recorder which wasn’t being used. We had to purchase a sound board and a set of microphones for which, as God would provide, there was just enough money in the chapel account. We were on our way to making this happen!
For the past few years our hospital has used a system to offer various educational videos to patients for viewing in their rooms. Not until recently had a ‘live’ feed been attempted. It took some creative engineering to tap into the existing video system and cast a ‘live’ presentation, but our team was up to that task. A cable was snaked through the walls and ceiling to the sanctuary, special connections were created on each end, and an in-house TV channel was dedicated to chapel use. Our first ‘live’ worship service went on the air June 17, 2007. This service was actually planned to be only a test for the new chapel TV system. We were set up to record it and then play it back in private to make sure it was presentable. Unknown to me, the engineer accidentally left the ‘live’ feed on. So, our first test recording actually went out ‘live’ anyway! Now, from their own beds patients are watching our gospel music videos for the hour before Sunday worship, joining our service by television, and tuning in to a peaceful, chapel setting with light, background music at any other time throughout the week. Any visitor strolling through the wards on Sunday mornings will hear the gospel (in stereo) coming from patient rooms and carrying through the hallways and corridors.
We have received outstanding feedback about the program from patients and staff members alike. Many of our patients are use to attending worship at least once every Sunday. When they are confined to the ward or to the hospital bed on Sunday, they’re very thankful to have this televised worship service as a temporary substitute for their home church. For the future we plan to provide religious or spiritual movies, seminars, classes, and preaching throughout the week as well as Sunday mornings.
The Gospel of Christ is being preached now throughout the hospital and in every patient’s room. Our services have gone from 5 to 25 in attendance in just a matter of months. Whoever thought that God would use this simple idea to set up a system of evangelism to carry his Word, and the ministry he has given me, to every patient and staff member that enters the VA Medical Center. And, so the old adage still holds true, “When God closes the door on one ministry, He opens a window on another.”
Chaplain Doan is a graduate of the Church of God Theological Seminary and he, his wife Cindy and their family reside in Marion, Illinois.
To learn more about the Church of God Chaplain chaplaincy programs, visit the chaplains Commission website at: www.cogchaplains.com [1].