How Curiosity, Service, and a Persistent Sense of God Shaped One Man’s Path to Chaplaincy
CHURCH, SCRIPTURE, AND A GROWING CURIOSITY
Growing up in Los Angeles, Chad Whitaker’s world revolved around baseball diamonds, skateboards, and unwavering loyalty to the Dodgers. Faith existed on the edges—felt more than taught. As a child, he remembers staring at the stars, convinced someone had placed them there. God was real, even if theology was not yet defined.
That belief took shape in his teenage years when church attendance became part of daily life after his father remarried. Youth group introduced him not only to God, but to Jesus. Curious and persistent, he asked questions, and a patient youth leader helped him move from assumption to understanding. At 19, just before entering the U.S. Army, he was baptized.
From 2004 to 2013, Chad served as a dental lab technician. His faith drifted during those years but never disappeared. “I always felt covered,” he recalls, “even if I wasn’t living for Him.”
A DEFINING MOMENT DURING WORSHIP
After leaving the Army, he and his wife settled in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In 2014, a simple Easter flyer from a nearby church changed everything. That church quickly became home. Three years later, during a worship night he almost skipped, Chad encountered a peace he couldn’t explain but immediately recognized. In that moment, he knew he wanted to help bring the peace of God’s Kingdom into the world.
The very next day, he enrolled at Carolina College of Biblical Studies (CCBS). Initially drawn to counseling, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies with a minor in counseling. However, along the way, apologetics captured his attention through the conversations he was having with Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Hebrew Israelites, Hindus, New Agers, and others. Chad then discovered that apologetics often felt like counseling, listening carefully, understanding perspectives, and responding with truth and compassion.
ANSWERING A CALL TO CHAPLAINCY
Naturally, these conversations led him to street evangelism and eventually to graduate studies in apologetics and chaplaincy.
Yet deeper study revealed a gap. While he could argue well, he struggled to sit gently with brokenness. Mentorship from CCBS professors and Clinical Pastoral Education through Christian Chaplains and Coaching (CCC) opened a new vision. “I didn’t know I wanted to be a chaplain,” he admits. “I just wanted the training.”
Chaplaincy reshaped his understanding of ministry. Instead of pulpits and platforms, it unfolded in hospital rooms, nursing homes, and hospice settings. Through four units of Clinical Pastoral Education, each pairing coursework with intensive internships, Chad is learning how to be present with grief, loss, and uncertainty. This work is transforming both his ministry and his heart.
A CALLING STILL TAKING SHAPE
He continues to pursue a Master of Divinity, knowing that the diversity of people he serves requires theological depth, emotional maturity, and pastoral wisdom. Balancing school, ministry, marriage, and children has been demanding, but he remains committed. “When you want something,” he says, “you go for it and don’t quit.”
Now nearing completion of his M.Div., Chad continues to preach when invited, visits hospitals and nursing homes, cares for shut-in church members, and engages in street evangelism. “I want to be in “full-time ministry,” he says. “I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet. God will show me on the way.”
Whether on the street, at bedside, or at church, Chad’s calling remains the same: to listen well, show up faithfully, and reflect the peace he once encountered himself. Chaplaincy, he is learning, isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about being present with peace, integrity, humility, and compassion.
Chad is married to his wife Kate, who is also a student at CCBS. They have four children. Chad is currently an Admissions Counselor at CCBS.
