Cadence International

These are seven reasons why ministering to the military community is vital and strategic:

1. Their occupational future is open.
   Those anticipating leaving the service in the near future or career people who have the potential for a second career after retirement often become chaplains, pastors, missionaries, or youth workers. The percentage of Cadence alumni in vocational Christian service is very high.
2. Their military role often brings isolation and culture shock.
   These people are displaced. Homesickness and a sense of aloneness can play a part in leading people to accept invitations to open homes. Friendships are made quickly and easily, providing the vibrant Christian with choice opportunities to influence others for Christ.
3. They are often in difficult living situations.
   Demanding duty schedules alternate with the boredom of off-duty hours. Deployment and possibly deadly combat are ever-present possibilities. They are shaken. Shaken people are usually more ready to hear about God than those who are at ease, making them more responsive to the gospel.
4. Their off-duty options are limited.
   Their free time choices away from familiar surroundings are often reduced to staying on the ship or in the barracks or going into town to the bar district with the group. Cadence presents a third option: spend time with a group of Christians in a “home away from home”, or in a home many have never experienced.
5. They are young.
   Military people often leave home as teenagers but are abruptly thrust into the roles of adults. They are faced with issue after issue for which they need answers. Cadence gives the opportunity to spend many hours with a mature Christian who is able to show them where to find the right answers. Eighty-five percent of Christians today came to faith before the age of 21. The average age in the military is 19. The “college” years are crucial because these people are often away from home for the first time and starting to carve out a life of their own.
6. They are a mobile subculture.
   They can spread the gospel as they move from assignment to assignment.
7. They experience different cultures.
   They learn about other cultures and become burdened to reach them for God. They are willing to go out into the world with the life-giving message of the gospel.