Evergreen Park resident Vince Lambert was nearing 40 years previous and was entrenched in a 20-year profession within the monetary and funding business managing two banks when he determined it was time for a change.

The 2008 monetary disaster had made work within the monetary business difficult however made his resolution to transition to a brand new profession a bit simpler. It was one thing he’d been contemplating for a very long time.

“I felt that God began giving me the calling as a navy chaplain within the late ‘90s,” he stated. “I stated I’ll come again to this subsequent yr. Properly, one yr became three, and three became 5 and 5 became a decade. Lastly in 2008, I stated it’s now or by no means.”

Heading into his fifteenth yr as an Military chaplain, Lambert enjoys his job greater than ever. Connecting and mentoring others whereas sharing God’s phrase are simply a number of the causes he loves his work.

Now the Illinois Military Nationwide Guard’s deputy command chaplain, he has duty for all 10,000 troopers within the Illinois Military Nationwide Guard,” based on a information launch from the Illinois Nationwide Guard public affairs workplace in Springfield.

Nonetheless, he stated, it’s “100% a individuals’s job.”

“You get to supply take care of service members and help service members within the improvement of their religion,” he stated. “Simply with the ability to see the miracles that occur in individuals’s lives — marriage enrichment, the expansion of a soldier, serving to relations and repair members by way of troublesome occasions and troublesome moments after which with the ability to see them on the opposite aspect of that — provides simply an incredible feeling.”

Lambert was promoted earlier this month from main to lieutenant colonel at a ceremony on the Illinois Military Nationwide Guard’s Normal Richard L. Jones Armory in Chicago.

In some ways, being a navy chaplain has related duties to these of a civilian minister, together with preaching, counseling and responding to disaster, he stated. He has a love for individuals, is empathetic and compassionate and is following God’s course. He affords marriage enrichment lessons and cultivates relationships among the many service members.

“They’re human beings, have household considerations, monetary considerations and along with these regular issues there are additionally the navy considerations that navy households need to cope with that civilian households don’t, like separation and deployment,” Lambert stated.

He stated the extra he is ready to domesticate relationships, the higher he is ready to serve and minister.

“I imagine that God provides us knowledge as we work together with individuals in several sorts of conditions,” Lambert stated. “God provides me knowledge, so I might be as useful as potential. God’s blessing and knowledge, we will’t do something with out that. … It’s troublesome, however additionally it is nice to have the ability to provide help and take care of our service members and households throughout troublesome moments. Whereas on one hand it’s a problem to do it, however it’s a blessing to have the ability to do it.”

The most important proportion of women and men he works with are between the ages of 18 and 30 years previous.

He hopes he has a hand in guiding these younger adults.

“One of many nice issues is with the ability to mannequin and be an instance of what it means to be a navy officer, what it means to be a minister and a person of God and what it means to be a husband,” Lambert stated.

Along with having a bachelor’s diploma in finance and a grasp’s of enterprise administration, he has a grasp’s diploma in faith and concrete ministry and a grasp’s diploma in human companies counseling. He has a number of certifications in marriage and household counseling in addition to suicide intervention.

Lambert stated he had achievement in finance, nevertheless it was time for him to do one thing else, and God planted the brand new seed in his life.

“It’s a kind of issues the place one thing was in your coronary heart and also you proceed to consider it on a extremely frequent foundation,” he stated. “It’s one thing you’ll be able to’t get away from. It was not a fleeting curiosity the place 5 minutes later I used to be serious about one thing else. It was an curiosity that stayed with me. And it’s been fairly a journey.”

Lambert, who’s married with two sons, stated steady help from his spouse, LaTonia, has been instrumental in his profession.

“She’s been superb on the journey,” Lambert stated. “She’s been an incredible sounding board. She’s been an incredible mentor for me. I can’t say sufficient about her.”

Lambert can be an adjunct college member at Moody Bible Institute, Trinity Worldwide College, within the MBA program at North Park College, DeVry College’s Keller Graduate College of Administration and Northwest College.

In 2020, Lambert deployed to Ukraine for almost a yr because the Job Drive Illini chaplain on the Joint Multinational Coaching Group Ukraine.

One of many tougher moments he’s skilled not too long ago was watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the results it has had on the nation and its individuals, Lambert stated.

Lambert stated he plans to proceed his ministry for a number of extra years. He stated the Illinois Military Nationwide Guard affords nice advantages to college students and younger adults simply out of highschool or these like himself who have been already in a vocation. He stated changing into a navy chaplain would even be a fantastic alternative for present civilian ministers to serve in a brand new approach.

“The Military Nationwide Guard, specifically, permits people to develop and develop professionally, intellectually, bodily and emotionally,” Lambert stated.

“God actually blessed me to have the ability to serve our service members of the Illinois Military Nationwide Guard, and it’s been a fantastic blessing that I actually couldn’t even think about,” he stated. “I’m so glad I did it. The one remorse I’ve is that I didn’t do it 10 years earlier.”

Michelle Mullins is a contract reporter for the Day by day Southtown.