This is the reality of America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines; each has a unique role in global defense, yet they are connected in knowing what it means to serve, to execute orders, and to be ready to give one’s life for freedom and democracy.
There is something about this environment, the trials, the tribulations, both in the job itself and in the relationship strains caused by it, that brings military personnel closer to the Lord and their fellow comrades in Christ.
And it is within this environment that a number of organizations—some nonprofit, some church-based—have come alongside military personnel to encourage, to answer needs of support and to inspire Christ-centered devotion. This intentional ministry, combined with the special fellowship inherent among those who serve, allow for a rich spiritual experience. In all this, service members find unique opportunities to engage in the Kingdom-building process, both to fellow military men and women and as missionary-like ambassadors fulfilling the Great Commission around the world.
For Gary Sanders, founder and president of the Military Mission Network and military pastor at First Baptist Church of Norfolk, Va., the aim of churches and para-church groups that work with military personnel is not only to provide spiritual support, but also to train and equip them for ministry as they travel the globe. Sanders has penned a small handbook titled, “The Fourth Journey,” based on a study of Acts 21-28 of how God directly and indirectly used the Apostle Paul’s association with the Roman military to advance the gospel in the first-century world.
Churches in military communities often do well in sharing God’s love with members of the military and their families, Sanders noted. “But what I have found in working with different types of military community churches from a variety of places is that only a small percentage of these churches seem to embrace the transient nature of the military lifestyle as an actual benefit,” he said. “The fact that military (personnel) come and go is actually strategic in terms of the church’s ability to get the gospel out not only in the community but to the whole world.
“This is why it is so crucial for the military community church to have a deliberate strategy to train and equip believers in the military for victorious living and effectiveness in ministry.”
Through his work with Military Missions Network, Sanders encourages pastors and leaders from military community churches to be active in understanding the military culture and lifestyle, akin to the cultural orientation necessary for military personnel who serve in other lands or for volunteers who do humanitarian work overseas.
In this way, First Baptist Church of Norfolk has created a military ministry that utilizes a variety of strategies to reach out to the military personnel of Hampton Roads, where the Navy’s largest fleet concentration is centered around Norfolk Naval Base, encompassing more than 300,000 service members and their families. Recent initiatives of the church have included adopting ships, assisting a Navy chaplain with the base chapel’s vacation Bible school and providing child care for monthly Family Readiness Group (support group) meetings.
“We want first and foremost to show the military of our community that we truly care about them and their families,” Sanders emphasized. “The bottom line is that there are no strings attached—we are here to serve them.”
Other Norfolk-area churches have followed First Baptist’s lead. Tabernacle Church of Norfolk and Virginia Beach Community Chapel, for example, have designated elders responsible for coordination of ministry to the military.
Sanders said social networks are a key facet of this outreach, in which various faith-based organizations unite to disciple and care for the military through small group study and other avenues of spiritual growth and fellowships.
Among the organizations working outside the military structure yet inside the lives of military personnel are The Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ’s military ministry and Officer Christian Fellowship.
Jim Gassaway, a full-time military ministry staff member with The Navigators, has spent much of his life both as someone in the military in need of ministry, and as a minister to the military.
It was during his freshmen year at the Naval Academy in 1973 that Gassaway, a self-professed backslidden believer, attended a Bible study, then ended up rooming with the leader of that study during his sophomore year. The leader’s personal example and discipleship helped Gassaway’s walk with God grow.
“It was the first time in my life that I saw someone my age actually living a life of faith that was practical,” he recalled. “He could naturally and comfortably talk with people about his faith because it was a part of his life.”
Gassaway began to meet other midshipmen who likewise were committed to growing in Christ, sharing in prayer, Bible study and discipling others. Through the influence of The Navigators military staff, Gassaway’s passion for leading others to Christ grew as well.
He and his wife, Cindy, were hired as full-time missionaries for The Navigators in June 1984 when he entered the Naval Reserves. The Gassaways then became Navigator missionaries to Naval Academy midshipmen in 1990, where they served for 10 years before eventually returning to Norfolk in 2000.
Investing “our lives in the service men and women and their spouses for His Kingdom … (has) to be one of the best jobs in the world,” Gassaway declared.
A diverse segment of officers and enlisted personnel are on the same journey as Gassaway. Among them is Daniel Walker, 25, a 2008 graduate of the Naval Academy. He was a second class petty officer in the field of cryptology when he was accepted to the academy and, by “God’s grace,” he discovered Christ. Through Protestant Midshipman Club gatherings to study the Bible and through the Officer Christian Fellowship, he said he began to let Christ work in him.
Walker, now stationed on a Norfolk-based destroyer, attends OCF weekly when his ship is in port. “It’s good to connect spiritually and professionally,” Walker said of OCF, “to get deep in the Word and see how we can be better servants of Christ as leaders in the military.”
Western Recorder issue date: November 4, 2008
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