Eighteen months ago while serving as the chaplain at Algoa Correctional Facility, Jefferson City, Ken Chapman was approached by Deputy Warden Louisa Bolinger about preaching at a church in California called Flag Spring Baptist Church during Palm Sunday.
"I told her I would love to do it," Chapman said. "I would be glad to preach. It went well and one thing led to another and before you knew it I became the pastor at Flag Spring. It was certainly a God thing."
Chapman said he felt the call to preach as a high school sophomore while on a mission trip with First Baptist Church, Jefferson City. Chapman approached his youth pastor, coincidentally First Baptist Church, California, Pastor Greg Morrow, at 2 a.m. they prayed and talked about his call. He said Morrow was very integral to his development and journey as a minister.
"I started out as a youth minister in college," Chapman said. "When I graduated I continued there part-time while at seminary. Then I got the call to my first full-time church, Bethel Baptist Church, Independence. I then spent some time in California as the youth minister at First Baptist before becoming the senior pastor at South Liberty Baptist Church, Liberty. Then I decided to come home and worked as a chaplain at Tipton Correctional Facility, then Algoa and now I work as a case worker at Algoa while pastoring at Flag Spring."
For more of this story check out the Aug. 10 issue of the California Democrat.