“What do you think about your husband serving as an Army Chaplain?” While it might sound like a recruiting question, I posed this question to my wife, Shari, after a Chapel session at BBC in 2003.

I was recently asked to tell my story of becoming a military chaplain and now the BBFI Chaplain Endorser. This is where that story began. After finishing my bachelor’s degree in 2002, I knew I wanted to continue in our Graduate School. I truly enjoyed my time learning from Dr. Kevin Carson and Dr. Greg Christopher. Honestly, I had no idea where God wanted me to serve! I began returning home from every Chapel service with a story of the need for missionaries in various locations. I was certain that I needed Shari’s support in the calling to serve God wherever it would be. Each time I’d share the need, she seemed reluctant. Still, I prayed for a field where we could serve together.

I remember the day we had three military chaplains speak at our Chapel service. We discussed their messages later in our classes. It’s like the “roast preacher” concept on the drive home from church except this takes place in our Bible College classrooms amongst coffee-shop theologians, as Dr. Sewell used to say. Most of my colleagues were unimpressed by the chaplains, but I was amazed by one phrase stated by Chaplain Amador when he said, “I cannot keep my schedule open enough for all the counseling requests in my unit.” THAT’S IT! From that point on, I was eager to do Biblical Counseling in a ministry setting ripe for the harvest. At the time, I was a senior pastor at a local church uninterested in my biblical counseling skills. The chaplaincy ministry seemed perfect, but I knew Shari would never approve. However, to my surprise and delight, she prayed and expressed an equal interest in this ministry.

My 20-year service as an Army Chaplain concluded May 30, 2025. Those years included several incredible ministry opportunities as senior pastor of multiple church congregations, as a counselor to hundreds of soldiers and families, and as a shepherd to many enduring trauma and crisis. It was a blessing to preach the Word, share Jesus, and provide hope. Shari was equally blessed to do this amongst the ladies in our congregations and units.

Today, we continue our team approach to serving our BBFI Chaplains and their families by providing the care and encouragement for their enduring military ministry. Our former endorser, Steve Bender, met with me for two years, discussing the opportunity for me to replace him when he retired from the Mission Office. I was humbled by the invitation to serve as the first retired BBFI Chaplain in the endorser role. As I told both Jon Konnerup, BBFI Mission Office Director, and Steve Bender at our final meeting, “I could not imagine a better way to continue my love for military ministry and the chaplaincy than to serve as the new BBFI Endorser.” I welcome the opportunity to share this area of missions with our pastors and churches so that our entire Fellowship may learn about this wonderful ministry of sharing Christ within our military.

Jeremiah can be reached at jcatlin@bbfimissions.org.