The Apostle Paul’s being chained to a soldier in Rome towards the end of his ministry must have made for intimate conversations, because with that kind of connection nothing a prisoner does escapes the watchful eye of his captor (and vice versa). I don’t think that Paul would have expected this way of ministering to military to be normative.

They Don’t Bite

Military people may appear a bit odd at first blush. They describe the exotic places of the world they have been stationed. They tend to talk about politics more because, as an instrument of foreign policy, they are directly involved in “defending against all enemies foreign and domestic.” They also may congregate together when they get a chance rather than go out of their way to interact with others outside the military. All this makes it tough sometimes to jump into a conversation with them, let alone try to minister to them.

Military people often jump in quite quickly when they arrive at a new place. Most of this is due to the fact that they know they will not be there for a long period, so they want every day to count.

Realizing that the military represents a cross section of the society at large may make them easier to understand. Military members do tend to be more conservative than the general public in their political opinions as well as their religious beliefs. Many military families homeschool their children so that they don’t have to worry about splitting the family over end-of-school-year concerns as they are moving. Military members, more than others, understand being under authority, much like the centurion who came to Jesus to heal his servant (Matt. 8:5-13). This is what they do day in and day out; they “obey the lawful orders of those appointed over them.” Unfortunately pride may also be a common theme. Some of the young pilots here at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Enid, Okla. go on to fly the world’s best and latest jets and get to “play with all the cool toys” the U.S. Air Force has to offer.

Ministry to the Military

We have a Bible study that meets on Sunday evenings. In the Bible study either the pastor or the elder teaches on a meaty topic. In the past, we covered the book of Hebrews in 15 months (that was short) and Matthew in three and half years (that’s a little more “Reformed”!). We are currently going through the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) chapter by chapter. The Bible study was the tool the elders from Stillwater RPC used to get the church plant here in Enid going in the first place. Enid is now a particular church, but it began with the Bible study that mainly ministered to the young pilots and instructors at Vance.

A few years ago a guy from Vance AFB wanted to attend our Bible study. He called and told me he was interested. After talking about the finer points of infralapsarianism, I wanted to make sure I was completely open with him about what to expect in the Bible study setting. I informed him I had four daughters near his age. My reason in telling him upfront about my daughters was so he would not come to the Bible study, see four good-looking blonde ladies, and think to himself, “Oh I know why he has a Bible study! To get those ladies married off.”

In his mind this went right along with the good meal I also told him about, which actually was meant as an enticement. He did come, and whether I was correct in assessing my own heart attitude or whether he was correct in detecting an ulterior motive, we will never know. One thing is for sure; he’s my son-in-law now and God’s plan prevailed! He and my third daughter now live in Germany where he is flying the C-21 all around Europe and the Mideast and loving it. I have one other son-in-law who flies B-1s. He met our second daughter through the Bible study. One of his students told him about my four daughters and the Bible study.

We’re a Family

In much the same way that any church is knit together in heart and mind, members of the military are part of a bigger family. There is a conscious attempt by the Air Force at large and the local leadership to make transitions easier by assigning local families to help out incoming families. Sometimes a young couple or individual may never have travelled outside the U.S. when they take their first overseas assignment. The family approach can help them get out, see the local culture and become more involved. This makes for a better assignment. In much the same way, the local church can help provide a new family a home away from home.

When my family and I were stationed at Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan, I used to spend two weeks in South Korea and then return home for four weeks in Okinawa. I did that rotation for three years, spending the equivalent of almost a year in Korea without my family. I was so lonely there. Jeanne needed my help with four little girls five and under. But as Psalm 68:6 says, “He sets the lonely into families.” There was a ministry in Korea that reached out specifically to military people who were in my situation. The family from that ministry met my needs for family while I was deployed. In turn, I could minister to some of the younger military members who were in a worse situation than I was. Some of them were there for a whole year without their families. The temptations downtown were enormous, and having a place of refuge was huge. We could find solace together and strengthen one another’s faith at the same time.

Do You Want to Get Involved?

If you notice an unsuspecting military person in your midst, ask him or her over for a meal or to your Bible study. He or she cannot get a good home-cooked meal, and besides, it keeps them off the street. It also give God’s people an opportunity to see how He is working in the lives of His people in various parts of the world.

The guys who come to our Bible study come because they like the family atmosphere, the fellowship, and of course the food (three F’s, a good start to a sermon!). The Word is central to our fellowship. Either the pastor or the elder teaches in an informal setting. The informality allows for more interaction, which the guys really like. In fact, the discussion can get very animated by the sharpening of God’s word. It’s encouraging to see the growth in grace that happens over several months of being exposed to solid biblical instruction. Since these guys go out into the rest of world, literally, they take with them a model of what a good Bible study should be and a good foundation on which to build as they minister to the larger body of Christ throughout their military careers.

Perhaps you want to get involved in a deeper way of ministering to the military. If you are a seminary student or interested in church planting, how about considering planting a church overseas and ministering to the military in that capacity? How about joining an already existing church overseas? The Navy has been flirting with approving their chaplains to administer “same sex marriage,” something that is not possible given God’s definition of marriage. There is no better way to combat error than by carrying the truth to them.

The Chapel is Not a Church

Dr. Doug Hudson is a PCA pastor who was a pastor to a Presbyterian church in Landstuhl, Germany. This area is home to the largest presence of U.S. military personnel outside the U.S. He says the military is “a neglected mission field.” And he should know. He is also a retired Army Reserve chaplain. He now has a ministry trying to get Reformed and Presbyterian pastors to consider planting churches with the express purpose of ministering to the military. As he describes, “The chapel is not a church.” It has none of the traditional Reformed marks of the church. It only sporadically has faithful preaching, and just about anyone can preach, including Mormons. There is not even consensus on the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. There cannot be the proper administration of the sacraments, because beliefs concerning the sacraments are as varied as the colors in Joseph’s coat. Finally, there can be no exercise of proper church discipline, because there is no membership and there is no official governing body within the chapel system to exercise it.

The chaplain system is useful for its intended design of giving soldiers on the battlefield an opportunity to worship. It is there to provide for the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The problem is that the U.S. government cannot favor one religion over another. So the chapel system, being an extension of the government, must be inclusive. But the claims of Christ in such places as John 14:6 are anything but inclusive.

The system also does not allow accountability in any official capacity. If a chaplain sees a soldier’s problem is due to sin and counsels him/her on it, that chaplain may suffer in his career progression, because that type of counseling may adversely impact the “morale” of that troop. I have seen Air Force chaplains not get promoted for this very reason. It does not mean that our RPCNA and other NAPARC chaplains are not doing a great job. They certainly are but they are paddling upstream against a system that does not include accountability. The chapel looks like a church but it is not a church. What better way to combat that slippery slope than by establishing a Reformed church overseas and ministering to the military people in that area. Far from being a system with its own religious institutions, the military is a community in desperate need of the many benefits a good Reformed and Presbyterian church can bring. If you are interested, visit www.ministrytothemilitaryinternational.com.

Fish or Cut Bait

The military is a neglected mission field. It represents an opportunity for the church to minister. One way is the simple family-style approach. Another way is planting a church near a military installation with the intent of more intensive ministry. Either way, we can be assured God will be with us as we all seek to fulfill His Great Commission.

—Bill Wagner

Bill Wagner is a member of the Enid, Okla., RPC. A home missions feature appears semiannually in the Witness.