One Free Will Baptist Chaplain-in-training shares the steps that led him to this important ministry.

My Calling

By Shaun Hembree

My name is Shaun Hembree. I am an ordained Free Will Baptist minister from Oklahoma currently endeavoring to become a chaplain in the U.S. Army. Currently enrolled at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, I am pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. I completed undergraduate studies last December at Northeastern State University.

Happily married 12 years, my wife Laura has done nothing but encourage and support me throughout this long process. I have been working towards this calling for more than six years, and she has never complained once. I am truly blessed to have Laura by my side, or I would not be able to accomplish this ambitious goal. My four young children also love and support me, providing little reminders of the importance of my calling every day.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and pledged my life to Him in 1992, at an early age. As a young adult, I felt God calling me to the ministry, and I answered that call in 2006, not knowing fully what I was to do. I have experience in different ministry capacities from church planting and teaching to associate and senior pastorates in Free Will Baptist churches. I assisted with a church plant in Seattle, Washington, for two years but otherwise have served throughout Northeastern Oklahoma at churches in Bixby, Haskell, and Checotah. Haskell First FWB Church ordained me in 2010, and I finally realized my calling fully in 2012, during a Veteran’s Day service.

God confirmed this calling to the chaplaincy in multiple ways and through multiple people. The men and women who serve our country in uniform live a rewarding but challenging life filled with demands. Our troops don’t always have easy access to church or their respective support systems, so chaplains go to them. That is what I want to do.

With no prior military experience, I don’t pretend to know all there is to this high calling. I do know I am physically and emotionally capable of serving, and I have always had strong convictions that Christians should live their lives to fullest potential. Our lives are a gift from God. Since He created me and sent His only Son to die for me, how could I offer to Him anything less than my best? I am instilling this truth in my children and anyone with whom I have influence. It has been one of the guiding principles of my life.

With God’s help, I continue to press towards fulfilling my calling and my dream. I sincerely appreciate all prayers of support. Currently, I am being evaluated for entrance into the Oklahoma Army National Guard chaplain candidate program, which means I have a long stint of master’s level coursework to complete. I cling to Philippians 1:6 which says “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”