Church responds to military families left behind

Mar 4, 2003
TIM MCKEOWN
Baptist Press

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KILLEEN, Texas (BP)-The clattering sounds of railcars rumbling down the tracks from Fort Hood are constant reminders that the nation is thundering closer to war.

But for families, friends and fellow church members of soldiers being deployed to Iraq, they don't need the 24-hour-a-day reminders.

"About 75 percent of our church is directly related to the military," said Joe Rich, pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Killeen, Texas. "We have about 1,650 in attendance in Bible study and already more than 50 soldiers who have left. We're expecting to have 100-plus deployed. Just how many, we don't know."

For every soldier shipped out from nearby Fort Hood, usually at least one family member is left behind to maintain the home front.

Ministering to them has been Memorial Baptist's labor of love.

While some remaining spouses choose to go home to their families, Rich said several wives believe they can do their part in the effort by staying in Killeen and supporting each other, in part because of the church's ministry.

Sara Allison is one of those wives, as her husband, 1st Lt. Brian Allison of the Signal Corps in the U.S. Army, is scheduled to be deployed in two weeks. "Right now, I'm okay, but I've been told the reality of it all sets in about two weeks after he leaves.

"We don't have children, so my first thought was to go home to Pensacola." But as a result of the church's ministry, "a great Sunday School class" and being a part of the music ministry at the church, Allison said she's planning to stay in Killeen.

Over the years, Memorial Baptist Church has developed a strategy of ministry to families in times like these. In fact, Rich, who has been at Memorial since 1992, said some of the retired military church members who reach out to the military families have been in their shoes and were recipients of ministry years ago.

"The soldiers are putting their lives on the line, concentrating on doing their job and it's a lot easier when they know that the home front is being taken care of," Rich said.

The two major tools Memorial Baptist uses in ministering to the families are the church's Sunday School and deacon ministries.

"Every member is assigned to a deacon and everyone is assigned to a Sunday School class. With those two ministries, we are meeting the families' needs, whatever they might be," the pastor said.

Some of the support efforts include weekly meetings for wives. "I don't know of any wives who have been deployed and their husbands left here, so it's all women in the groups. They meet and talk, sharing whatever needs they have. They even share e-mails from those already deployed and put them all together to see the bigger picture of what it's like over there."

The church is able to help the community in other ways, not just in ministering to military families. Retired Lt. Col. Dick Chapin operates the church's food distribution center, providing groceries, food baskets and clothes to families on low to moderate incomes.

Of those families, about 35 to 45 percent are military families. Last year the church distributed 1.2 million pounds of food, helping more than 400 families a month. "

Chapin said the church is able to also provide financial counseling assistance to a number of families, especially when the husbands are gone and the wives need assistance in taking care of the bills.

Soldiers who are in combat get a small increase in pay, but many of the soldiers lose the part-time jobs they hold during peacetime. As a result, sometimes the family income actually decreases when soldiers leave for the battlefield.

"The combat pay is tax-free, but it's amazing how many soldiers qualify for welfare," Rich stated. "The salary of the military personnel is not that great, especially for the non-officers. Someone who is an 'E-4' (an enlisted man with two stripes) still qualifies for welfare. It's a hardship in many ways."

Pastoring a military church is unique because of the comradery that unites the church, Rich said. "Sometimes they say 'amen' in service and sometimes they say, 'who-ah' like they do in training," he said with an affectionate laugh.

While he did not serve in the military, Rich said he's learned a great deal through his ministry to the families. "What we've discovered [about it] is how times like these unify our fellowship. We talk about being brothers and sisters in Christ, but you really don't know someone until you break down and cry with them."

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