A Texas-based ministry trains chaplains to cater to the spiritual needs of RV park residents.
By William Artherholt
February 2019
Many people look forward to retirement, but when it arrives it often seems that life has lost its purpose. You can only do so much golf, tennis, hunting, card playing, and shopping. Life can feel empty.
For 37 years I was a family physician in a wonderful medical community in a small town where everyone knew your name. Over time, I reduced my practice so I could invest more time with each person. I wanted to help not only with medical needs but with issues of the soul and the spirit as well.
I was a board member, and eventually an elder, of our church. For more than a decade, I worked with individuals, and my wife, Ali, and I worked with couples, providing spiritual counseling. Eventually I left medicine, which gave me time to focus on ministry, repurposing my life.
We purchased a motorhome to see America, our children, and our grandchildren. Traveling was enjoyable, but I felt called to do more than be a vagabond in an RV.
FMCA members Lee and Grace Tracy have dual roles with Christian Resort Ministries.
Then we heard about Christian Resort Ministries (CRM), a Texas-based nonprofit that places chaplains in RV parks and resorts across the United States. Lee and Grace Tracy, F435731, are the ministry’s regional managers for Texas and serve as chaplains at Lakewood RV Resort in Harlingen. The retired professional truck drivers say they found new purpose in their lives through the ministry.
That was also true of two of our friends who sold their business and joined CRM. Their challenge to us: Consider becoming a chaplain. It would mean preaching each Sunday, leading Bible studies, and visiting people in homes and hospitals.
Ali and I decided to test-drive this retirement opportunity by leaving Iowa and spending part of the winter with our friends in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We observed; listened to our friend preach; and made hospital visits to residents of his RV resort. (I already had that hospital visit part down pat.)
Sometimes you are confronted with a decision that is “in your face” and must be addressed. God works that way, providing opportunities that are out of one’s comfort zone.
In our case, we were asked to consider being an RV park chaplain for the next winter season. After an application process, a background check, orientation, and training, a mentor was assigned to Ali and me. Then an ordination panel was scheduled, and I was interviewed, vetted, and deemed worthy of being ordained. Many people traveled hundreds of miles to be part of the ceremony.
We were assigned to an RV park in Texas where people from all over the United States and parts of Canada spend the winter. There, we could share God’s word with more people than we would meet traveling. We found a ministry in an RV park. We found a purpose for being retired.
Whether retirement is fulfilling is up to you. If God is in your face, perhaps you, too, should consider a new career ministering to people in an RV park. Ali and I did, and we made precious friends. But the most significant reward is watching a spiritual fire being lit in someone.
For more information about Christian Resort Ministries, visit www.crmintl.org, call (970) 420-9525, or email info@crmintl.org.