They’re both experienced leaders with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. They’re both veteran first responders—one a longtime police officer, the other a retired firefighter.
But chaplains Kelly Burke of Tallahassee, Florida, and Al New of Kingsport, Tennessee, had very different emotions when they took their respective phone calls on Sunday, informing them they needed to head to Orlando to minister to people in the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
“As an old first responder myself, and hopefully a compassionate Christian, I was literally compelled to go,” said Burke, who lives just three hours from Orlando. “I know where the hope lies, and if I can be a part of sharing Him and uplifting the name of Jesus in this environment I would love to.”
New, on the other hand, approached the situation with a bit more trepidation, unsure of whether the chaplains would be welcomed. As he drove the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team’s Mobile Ministry Center from Charlotte to Orlando, however, he had a lot of time to pray about it.
“I just kept talking to the Lord about it, and saying, ‘The Lord is in control. Just go and let the Lord lead and guide,’” New said. “And I found that to be exactly true. The Lord was leading and guiding and orchestrating every step that we took today.”
Whatever their thoughts as they embarked on the journey, both have already seen God move as they’ve offered hope and comfort in the midst of the despair.
Since arriving, Burke and New—along with roughly a dozen other crisis-trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team—have been ministering on the streets of Orlando and by the memorials that have popped up in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
The emotions are still raw, the chaplains say, but are transitioning to more of a “Where do we go from here?” mentality.
“There are the ‘Orlando Strong’ signs and the ‘We Will Overcome’ signs. So there is this hope and this expectation, but we get the privilege and opportunity of pointing people to the One that can give that hope,” Burke said.
“We pray that we’re a part of … the good that came from the evil.”
New experienced that firsthand as he walked the memorial site and provided what he calls a ministry of presence, standing alongside mourners and making himself available to talk or pray.
“The Lord would prompt me who to speak to,” New said. “I would begin to speak softly and introduce myself. The next thing I know we’re holding hands and praying.
“The Lord just showed Himself today and we were well received by everybody.”
At one point a conversation and prayer with one woman turned into a large prayer gathering in front of the memorial. New was about to begin praying for her when he sensed the Holy Spirit nudging him to have her pray instead.
“She was praying out loud, we were holding hands,” New said. “Soon, I had people laying hands on me, and I could hear them praying. And when we finished our prayer, I looked around and we had a whole crew of people standing there, laying their hands on each other and praying.”
As ministry and healing continues in Orlando, both New and Burke said the most important thing to do at this point is pray.
“The best thing that anybody can do is pray for healing for this community,” New said. “Nobody deserves what happened. God loves every one of us. So pray for everybody that’s here in the Orlando area.”
Burke added, “Even if you’re 2,000 miles away from Orlando, you can pray and impact what takes place in Orlando. Pray that God would continue to strengthen and encourage His workers, His children and His churches here. And that He would also continue to soften hearts and get folks ready to receive what He wants to give them.”
