Chaplains, are you ready to sharpen your math skills? There are 419 Arkansas Southern Baptist chaplains (most are volunteers) who serve in 531 different chaplaincy ministries. The difference in those numbers is because some chaplains have dual roles. For example, Chaplain “Jim” serves as a law enforcement chaplain and a disaster relief chaplain.

These 419 chaplains lead about 1,500 people to the Lord a year and minister to many thousands more! What would happen if we “multiplied” the number of chaplains by three? Perhaps the professions of faith would triple as well. The other-than-evangelism ministries we perform would also increase.

So, who is responsible for “multiplying” the number of chaplains in Arkansas and how can it be done?

First, the Lord is responsible. “And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2, NASB) We all know that the Lord wants to send out more laborers.

Next, we are responsible. “And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few ; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2, NASB) Have I ever specifically prayed to the Lord that He would call more chaplains? Probably not -- until I took this job. Brother and sister chaplains – will you join with me in praying to the Lord that He will send out more laborers in the form of chaplains? We REALLY can go where the majority of the church can’t usually go (patrol cars, fires, prisons, jails, hospital rooms, etc) and we REALLY can do some things that the church most often cannot do. And yet, our hope is to not only minister to people in the Lord’s name, but, as He gives grace, to see the lost move INTO the church!

We believers have His orders to be involved in disciple making. (Matthew 28:18-20) Disciple making is many things, but it certainly includes leading lost people to Christ and teaching saved people to obey the Lord’s commands. For chaplains, one way the “teaching” part may flesh out could be to prayerfully approach believers about becoming chaplains (one of many ways Christians obey the “go” part of the Great Commission) and then mentor them through the process. The person you approach may or may not end up working directly with you in your chaplaincy role, but your background and experiences can help them just the same.

So, do the math! If each chaplain inspires, encourages and/or disciples two people over the next four years, we can triple the chaplain corps in Arkansas by the end of 2012.

Bottom line: if we increase the number of chaplains in Arkansas, more people will be saved and more people will experience the grace of God through the ministry of a chaplain.

I am here to resource you – let me know how I can help. Also see www.absc.org/chaplain