Army Chaplaincy Issues a Call to Serve God and Country
U.S. Army Chaplains serve both God and country by answering the call to serve our nation’s Soldiers in the challenging, diverse, and ever changing environment of the Army. While the benefits and pay of an Army Chaplain are good, the requirements and stakes are much higher! Army Chaplains are our nation’s Soldiers who minister to our nation’s sons and daughters, and their families. Like any Soldier, they must endure the hardships, separations, and deprivations of those whom they serve. Like any Minister, they must provide dynamic and genuine ministry with a shepherd’s heart.
If you choose to answer the call, you will accompany Soldiers all over the world as they carry out their missions. And while you minister to the Soldiers, you and your family will be enriched as you are exposed to new places, new peoples, and new cultures. Your faith will be enriched, challenged, and strengthened as you carry out your duties as the spiritual leader in the spiritual community known as the Army.
While Soldiers are at the heart of a chaplain’s ministry, as an Army chaplain you will also be responsible for caring for the Soldiers’ families, and may often find yourself serving the spiritual needs of Sailors, Marines, or Airmen. Whether it is leading worship and preaching, administrating the sacraments, counseling young couples, establishing education classes and youth groups, or working with parish and congregational advisory groups, the Army Chaplain is never spiritually AWOL.
The Army is a pluralistic environment. Rabbis, Ministers, Imams, Pastors, and Priests serve Soldiers with conviction and commitment. If you choose to become an Army Chaplain you will be expected to observe the distinctive doctrines of your faith while also providing the means for others to observe their faith.
As an Army Chaplain, you will never go it alone; all Army Chaplains are paired with an enlisted Chaplain Assistant. Together you and your Chaplain Assistant form what is called the Unit Ministry Team or UMT. An Army UMT is inseparable in duty.
If you’re feeling called to serve both God and country, then take the next step, contact the Church of God Chaplains Commission at www.cogchaplains.com to learn more about becoming an Army Chaplain and how you can step up and serve the brave Soldiers that serve us.
