Photo By Sgt. Victor Ayala | Capt. Ken S. Lewis, chaplain for the 9th Civil Affairs Battalion, performs with the...... read more read more
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By Pvt. Victor J. Ayala
49th Public Affairs Detachment
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Chapel Next, the post's contemporary Christian service, celebrated its 12th birthday, Sept. 14, 2008, at the John J. Tolson III Youth Activities Center. More than 300 attended the special service, which included a slideshow of the program's history and a luncheon at the Watters Family Life Center.
The service participants celebrated 12 years of successful contemporary ministry that has bloomed since Chapel Next's humble start in 1996.
Originally conceived as the All American Service by a small group of chaplains from the 82nd Airborne Division, Chapel Next's first focus was on the young Soldiers from the division. Their goal was to provide a service which young people could identify with and not be intimidated or put off by, said Maj. David P. Mikkelson, director of the Watters Family Life Center, and one of the founding chaplains.
To make the service more relatable to a younger generation, the chaplains first did away with focus on dress code, encouraging people to dress as they felt comfortable. They also included more modern worship music in the service to keep younger Soldiers interested. The chaplains also were careful not to use traditional religious terminology to make their gospel more identifiable.
"The vision was to create a comfortable atmosphere where there would be no distractions from the authentic gospel," said Maj. Jim Murphy, chaplain of Special Forces Command.
While creating such an atmosphere for Soldiers and their families, it was decided that the service would never meet in a chapel. In all 12 years the Fort Bragg Chapel Next has delivered its service, it has met in more than six different buildings varying from schools to movie theaters to gymnasiums.
"Now, there's not a chapel big enough to hold us," said Maj. Gregory J. Long, chaplain of 3rd Special Forces Group and senior chaplain of Chapel Next.
During its growth in 1999, the service shed its All American name and became Chapel Next, as it had come to serve more than just the 82nd Abn.
Today, Chapel Next serves nearly 400 worshippers every Sunday at the Tolson Youth Center. It offers and adult service and two services for teenagers and younger children.
Chapel Next's success has even reached beyond Fort Bragg with successful ministries all over the Army, to include posts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2008 15:48 |
| Story ID: | 23738 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 422 |
| Downloads: | 173 |
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