Rev. Greg’s Ministry to Soldiers and His Upcoming Deployment to Jordan
One of the ADNE’s recent clergy additions is preparing to minister to soldiers in the Middle East this year. The Rev. Greg Butler, a 2LT Chaplain in the New Hampshire Army National Guard, will be deployed to Jordan this month, and the ADNE is excited to support him in this ministry with our prayers and encouragement.
While deployment is definitely a big deal for Rev. Greg, his wife of 18 years, Carrie, and their children (ages 14, 10 & 7) he acknowledges this has been a long time coming. In fact, he wanted to join the military in his twenties but felt he needed more ministry experience before enlisting as a chaplain. In the years since then, he has pastored a church full-time, started a family, and supported Carrie in her battle against cancer.
In 2018, the time was right. When he found out there was one chaplain available for the New Hampshire Guard, Rev. Greg responded to the need, enlisting as a chaplain candidate to begin serving, from supporting soldiers in their faith to conducting memorial services for veterans. In the four years since he has been able to minister to both committed and lapsed Christians from all kinds of denominational backgrounds, and he sees the Army National Guard as a huge mission opportunity to reach the unchurched: this is the first generation in which the majority of soldiers declare “no religion” when enlisting, and creating space for these “nones” to explore faith excites him.
Rev. Greg will be stationed at the Joint Force Training Center, where American and Jordanian soldiers train together as part of Operation Spartan Shield, which promotes regional self-reliance and increased security in the Middle East. At the JFTC, Rev. Greg in collaboration with one to two other chaplains will provide chapel services, daily prayer, and Bible studies. In addition, he will also periodically travel around the Middle East with the New Hampshire Field Artillery Brigade to offer spiritual care to his fellow soldiers.
While military chaplaincy will define Rev. Greg’s ministry for the coming year, ministry to soldiers is not actually his singular passion. As the Director of Spiritual Life at Laconia Christian Academy in central New Hampshire Rev. Greg provides spiritual care to preK-12 students as well as to faculty and staff – something he’s done since 2019 when God suddenly broke his heart for students one day while he dropped off his kids at school. Rev. Greg intends to continue investing in the lives of students upon his return.
In addition, Rev. Greg has been involved with Incarnation Anglican Church, a growing ADNE church plant one hour to the south in Manchester, NH pastored by the Rev. Piper Runnion-Bareford. When Rev. Greg returns from deployment, he hopes to explore possible church planting with the ADNE in the Laconia area.
The ADNE will receive periodic updates from Rev. Greg, and will pass them on to the diocese so we can all continue to support him in his ministry. For now, please pray for him as he completes the necessary training stateside and is deployed, and pray for Carrie and the kids as they navigate this transition for their family.