Don't Forget to Pray for Our Chaplains
by Jim Elzerman

FM Chaplain Mike Michener performs an on-deck baptism.

"The Free Methodist Chaplains Association (FMCA) supports the mission of the Free Methodist Church of North America (FMCNA), seeking to extend and enrich its mission while providing mutual support to nearly 120 military and institutional Free Methodist chaplains worldwide."

Thus begins an article in the July/August 2002 issue of the Light & Life magazine by Robert S. Barnard, Jr. on the ministry of Free Methodists serving as chaplains around the world. As a follow-up to that article I thought it would be good to run an article in the prayer section about how we can pray specifically for our chaplains.

FM Chaplain Rick Winchester in Afghanistan (2001)

Kenneth V. Carpenter, who serves as Command Chaplain at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, LA responded to the question, "What specific prayer requests can we be praying about right now?" with these requests:

• Our deployed military personnel
• Ft. Bragg, NC, in the aftermath of the recent homicides, suicides.
• Our Commander-in-Chief and all commanders

Robert S. Barnard, Jr., who is serving as the Denominational Endorsing Agent, shared these prayer concerns:

• Pray specifically that Chaplains and their families have good Christian fellowship and support. Many do not live close to like-minded Christians in the context in which they are ministering.
• Several of our Chaplains operate as faith ministries and are dependent on donations as are our other missionaries. Pray for their financial support.
• World Headquarters had to cut the budget for the next fiscal year. All of those operations are affected, as are we. Pray for the support of our operating budget.

FM Chaplain Metsinger serves in a juvenile facility

Free Methodist Chaplains serve in hospitals, hospice, various social service settings, crisis response units, police departments as well as the armed forces. Get in touch with a chaplain near where you are and ask them how you can pray for his or her ministry. With October being "Pastor Appreciation Month," it would be especially meaningful to extend appreciation to a chaplain serving near you. If you need help identifying a chaplain near you, Barnard is the one to ask. You can contact him at:

Robert S. Barnard, Jr.
Denominational Endorsing Agent
203 Asbury Drive
Wilmore, KY 40390
Phone/Fax: (859) 858-2863
Cell phone: (859) 361-4819

FM Chaplain Ben Belcher serves at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Bremerton, WA

Also, when you contact Barnard, check with him about becoming a member of the "Aaron and Hur Society." An excerpt from the Light and Life article cited above explains:

"The Aaron and Hur Society is a newly created support system for chaplains that in many ways parallels the connections between local FM churches and missionaries in the field. FMCNA Chaplain Endorsing Agent Bob Barnard based the new society on the valiant support offered by the two men who held Moses' arms up during a battle recorded in Exodus 17. … Aaron and Hur Society member churches connect with chaplains to provide prayer, encouragement and accountability, frequent and regular two-way communications and on-going financial support in amounts determined by each congregation as part of its missions budget."

Please include our Free Methodist Chaplains in your prayers, and prayerfully consider how your local church can become more involved in this important but often over-looked ministry.