If you are reading this you have probably read my resume and may be wondering how I plan to fulfill my duties as a pastor while serving in the reserve military. The Air Force has a reserve category known as "Individual Mobilization Augmentee," or (IMA). Chaplains in this category work with active duty personal rather than being assigned to a reserve unit. As such we drill midweek, approximately once a month, rather than one weekend a month like most reservists. This not only frees the pastor to fulfill his ministerial duties but provides him with valuable experience and training, not to mention thrilling ministry opportunities that will augment his roll as pastor. Furthermore, these chaplains traditionally not been deployed overseas, but rather mobilized to stateside bases to fill in for active duty chaplains who are on deployment. These mobilizations (again, traditionally) occur only on a volunteer basis. We are a nation at war, and we are increasingly affected by friends and family serving in our military. Just as missions trips and conferences strengthen a church's ministry abroad, I see the reserve chaplaincy as a valuable opportunity for a local church to better understand and minister to our men and women in uniform.
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