After serving for more than two years as a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Painesville, Travis Henry is preparing to accept a new call as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. Henry said that he is set to transition into his new role in October. Though he expects a different lifestyle in the military, he continues to work with a desire to minister to others. He initially entered pastoral ministry after studying in seminary and being called by his denomination, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He was motivated to enter ministry by the message of his faith. “I guess it’s just the message that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and he died so that we might have life, and he rose again from the dead, and I thought people needed to hear that,” Henry said. He added that “a lot of good things have happened” at Zion Lutheran Church in the two years since he arrived. “Had a lot of baptisms, and we believe that baptism is where God put his promise of salvation upon people,” Henry said. “And that’s pretty big highlight, very honored to be an instrument of God to do that.” The church’s senior pastor, Kurt Ziemann, described Henry’s time with the church as “too short.” “But God has a plan, and you go where God sends you,” he added. Henry said that the opportunity to serve as an Air Force chaplain arose through the LCMS. “The Missouri Synod called me to be a pastor, and then working with them, we applied to be a member of the Air Force, and the Air Force Chaplain Corps accepted me, and that’s how that came about,” he said. While Henry anticipates changes and challenges in his new role, he said that he does not know right now what they will be. Ziemann said that there is a shortage of chaplains to serve members of the Armed Forces. “These men and women are serving and they’re giving up, sometimes their lives,” he said. “I mean, it’s pretty huge commitment, so it’s good to have men of the cloth there, men of faith to be supporting them. We certainly could use more in that area as well.” While Henry is following his call to ministry, he does not believe that a ministry role is more sacred than other jobs. “God calls us all to different areas in our life, and to be able to serve our neighbors in those different roles and walks of life matters,” he said. Ziemann added that Henry’s focus is not on himself. “It’s not about him, it’s about what God has done through Jesus our savior and the chaplaincy and being a pastor, that’s what it’s all about, I think that’s what Pastor Henry is really focusing on,” he said. “He does that very well.”