Moore takes on role of consultant for chaplain ministry
By Tony Martin
Associate Editor
Shane Moore, chaplain for the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard at Key Field in Meridian and bivocational pastor of Oak Hill Church, Poplarville, will be adding consultant to chaplain ministry at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) to his already-busy life and ministries.
His duties and responsibilities will include serving as a liaison between the Board, chaplains, and their organizations; overseeing planning and implementation of events and training related to chaplains; and many other promotional and programming responsibilities.
“What I love about chaplaincy is that it’s an incarnational ministry,” Moore said. “It’s like being a pastor in uniform. They may not trust you until they see that you’ve gone through some of the same things they’ve gone through.
“They see that I was an aircraft mechanic — it’s the badge on my uniform below the cross — and they say, ‘Yeah, you’re one of us.’ What I tell people is the rank gives me access, the maintenance badge gives me credibility, and the cross gives me purpose.”
The North Carolina native holds the rank of major and has a chaplaincy endorsement from the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He will be working in the MBCB Men’s Ministry Department, which is directed by Jon Martin.
“Our office resources and assists Mississippi Baptist chaplains,” Martin said. “That includes hospital chaplaincy, military chaplaincy, law enforcement chaplaincy, and industrial chaplaincy. What Shane will be able to do because he is a chaplain is relate to other chaplains and help us to know how to better resource them.
“We recognize that chaplains touch people’s lives that the church may not ever have the opportunity to touch. In the military, there are going to be chaplains available and of course we prefer that they be Christian chaplains, so we want to do our best to resource them and even recruit them,” Martin said.
Moore estimates that 99% of his military ministry is counseling. “As I’m out visiting, someone will pull me aside and want to talk about how their marriage is crumbling, and I always offer Christ as the answer to that. There is a lot of evangelism that goes on; it’s a great opportunity to share the Gospel.”
Moore earned a doctor of ministry degree from New Orleans Seminary in 2018. He and his wife Ashley have three children: Caleb, Kaleigh, and Kyleigh Grace.
“Chaplaincy is such a specialized position,” Martin noted. “The North American Mission Board endorses all our chaplains, and Mississippi Baptists resource them. [Chaplain ministry] is wide open. It makes a big difference in people’s lives. It’s unbelievable the opportunities it opens.”
The MBCB chaplaincy ministry is supported by gifts to the Cooperative Program. For more information on Mississippi Baptist chaplaincy, contact Martin at jmartin@mbcb.org. Telephone: (601) 292-3339. Website: https://www.mbcb.org/church-growth/mens-ministry/.