LCMS MAF

Our Chaplains provide ministry in some pretty amazing locations. Here LCMS Air Force Chaplain Jon Smithley flies with the 99 Air Refueling Squadron for a tanker refueling mission. May our Savior keep him and the Airmen he serves safe!

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Air Force Reserve, established on April 14, 1948! We're proud to have LCMS Chaplains in the Air Force Reserve as they serve congregations and the military through reserve status. 📸: Our newest LCMS Air Force Reserve Chaplain, Pastor Daniel Vang, was sworn in last September.

LCMS Chaplain Pon Chanthaphon is stationed in Hawaii and proclaimed Easter joy at Diamond Head Lighthouse during the Easter Vigil. Over 110 people attended this beautiful service. Alleluia! Christ is risen!

📷 Read our newest issue of "Warning Order" with the cover story, "Baptismal Identity," by @LCMSMAF's own Chaplain Steven Hokana. files.lcms.org/file/preview/a…

Congrats to Chaplain Joshua Kintz who graduated from Navy Chaplain School today. He will report to his ship, the USS Bougainville, for duty. Prayers ascend for Chaplain Kintz and his wife, Rachel, and welcome to the Navy family.⚓

🙏There's a lot to consider when it comes to military chaplaincy. Fortunately for 4 @ConcordiaSem seminarians, they were able to see the unique ministry of military chaplaincy firsthand! LCMS Chaplain Karl Gibbs, assigned to the Coast Guard for Sectors Upper Mississippi, Lower Mississippi and Ohio Valley, introduced these seminarians to leadership and crews in St. Louis. May our Heavenly Father grant wisdom to all prayerfully considering chaplaincy and may He bless these men in their seminary studies.

"Christ is arisen From the grave's dark prison. So let our joy rise full and free; Christ our comfort true will be. Alleluia!" 📸: LCMS Chaplain Pon Chanthaphon leading Easter 2024 at Diamond Head Lighthouse in Hawaii.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5

Wishing all our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those in remote areas, a blessed Maundy Thursday.

Wishing you a blessed start to the Month of the Military Child as we recognize the sacrifices made by children of service members. Thank you, Military Children! 📸: LCMS Navy Chaplain Karl Gibbs with little Samuel and his parents, following Samuel's baptism on the USCGC Kankakee.

Congrats and God's richest blessings to LCMS Chaplain Charles Varsogea upon his retirement from a long military career. Watch the Naval Chaplaincy School video of Chaplain Varsogea's retirement and the Change of Command Ceremony. ⚓️ facebook.com/NavalChaplainc…

All glory, laud, and honor to You, Redeemer, King! Blessed Palm Sunday! Hear Christ for you at kfuo.org. Read the text for Lutheran Service Book 442 at hymnary.org/hymn/LSB2006/4….

🔗 files.lcms.org/file/preview/c…

📸Here Chaplain Carl Muehler leads Good Friday Tenebrae service on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in 2025. Help our service members locate Holy Week services by sharing the link below to find congregations near military bases. Overseas? Send us a message.

Chaplain Ryan Schnake shared these photos of Lenten worship at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. Christ be praised for over 45 attendees at a recent service.

Happy birthday to our Director, Chaplain Craig Muehler, and our Assistant Director, Chaplain Steven Hokana. They share a mission and a birthday! Happy birthday, Chaplains! 🥳

Did you know there is only one US Coast Guard Medal of Honor recipient? LCMS Coast Guard Auxiliary Chaplain BillSchmidt gave the invocation and benediction for the Memorial to Signalman First Class Douglas Munro, held at the Munro Memorial at USCG Station New York. Munro posthumously received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in WWII.

"For young men and women discerning their place in the world, military service remains a worthy path, one through which God works to protect His people and preserve the peace of the country we are honored to serve." - David Van Rooy, writing in the latest @LutheranWitness witness.lcms.org/2026/military-…