Youth Ministry and Combat Zones

More Similarity than You May Think

Major Pierre Allegre serves as a chaplain assigned to the 446th Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force Base in Washington, and he's presently preparing for...

I was deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq back in May 2006, leaving my wife, kids, and home church where I was the lead pastor to proudly serve my country during a difficult period of war.

Prior to serving in a lead role, I served as a youth pastor from 1982 to 1995 in churches in Southern California and Seattle. As I reflect back on my four-month combat tour in Iraq (an Air Force deployment is mercifully shorter than Army or Marine tours!), the skills I developed years ago as a youth pastor were essential to my successful tour in Iraq. Here's what I mean:

Limited Sleep

F-16s launching every hour about a half-block away from my little trailer next to the airfield was nothing new; it reminded me of the sleep I got (or failed to get) during Middle School retreats.

Long Hours

Up at 0600 (6 a.m.), with my work day sometimes ending at about 0100 (1 a.m.) the next day, was a typical work day. I remember how long and unpredictable my days were as a youth pastor. Groundhog Day in the life of a youth worker.

Flexibility and Readiness

Ministry in a combat zone is all about being ready to meet the needs of people in need. I didn't require appointments; I was available 24/7 to any airman, soldier, marine, or civilian contract worker who needed a safe person to talk to. Sound a lot like what you do?

High Energy

Working long days in the heat of Iraq, sometimes walking several miles every day to visit troops in various hangars and maintenance facilities made me thankful for all the years I ran around with students, coached soccer in public high schools, and generally maintained an insane high-energy pace of life. It served me as a youth worker; it served me equally well in the desert.

Getting Along with Staff Members

Long, hot days, missing family and friends, working closely in a Vietnam-era tent with a chapel staff of various personalities and backgrounds sometimes took its toll on staff relationships. I happened to be the lowest-ranking officer on a team of six chaplains.

And guess what? I had no problem taking the high road, not defending my pride or position (what position?), getting along with everyone and keeping the ministry the main objective.

Why? Because I had learned as a youth pastor that ministry isn't about prestige, position, or rank; it's about loving people and letting God use you with all your weaknesses and inadequacies to touch lives.

Spiritually Hungry Hearts

Not since being a youth pastor have I met so many people—often not much older than the students I used to minister to as a youth pastor—who were open and ready to hear about the good news found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God used me to lead several to faith and baptism out there in the desert—the most evangelistic fruit since I left youth ministry. I've always said the being a youth pastor is way more fulfilling than serving as a senior pastor because we get to see so many more life-changing decisions in youth ministry.

That's a lot like how it is providing ministry in a combat zone. That's why I'd go back to the desert in a heartbeat. It's like being a youth pastor all over again.