Marketplace Chaplains Direct

Stephen C. and Brooksyne Weber go to work in 10 different places every week.

As Assemblies of God U.S. Missions corporate chaplains, the married couple visit 10 jobsites in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. With the exception of a pair of national motel chains in the community, small local companies have hired them. In each case, owners and managers want the Webers to meet the spiritual needs of employees.

The overseers of all 10 enterprises, ranging from a heating and air conditioning firm to a livestock equipment manufacturer, are Christians who have contracted independently with the Webers. The firms pay a monthly fee of $10 per worker for their personnel, which range in size from 25 to 200 employees.

In any given week, Stephen and Brooksyne have face time with more than 400 workers. They greet individuals by name, and perhaps inquire about the status of a recent health problem or how a wayward child is getting along. Besides worksite visitation, the Webers are available for counseling, conflict mediation, and leadership development.

Stephen, 61, graduated from Central Bible College in 1977 and pastored AG churches for a quarter century. But he wearied of church administrative duties and of being confined to an office without community interaction. Stephen and Brooksyne became part-time Marketplace Ministries chaplains in 1998. They struck out on their own in 2005, contracting directly with small businesses.

The Webers — who have been married 40 years — go to the workplaces together, then typically split up by gender. Stephen spends time with male workers while Brooksyne visits the women. Although there are more males than females, it takes about the same time because females tend to share greater details and more frequently.

“Women, from day one when we introduce ourselves, are more willing to go in depth with problems than men,” Brooksyne says. “Women are sometimes in tears because they have bottled up problems. It is not uncommon to pray personally right at the worksite with an employee who expresses a need.”

The chaplains encourage those who are Christians and try to steer those who aren’t toward the Lord. Many at these companies are steady workers who have been in the same position for decades.

Non-Christians sometimes aren’t receptive — until a crisis hits. That’s especially true for the largely young female maid staff at the motels, where Brooksyne may be viewed as a mother, or even grandmother, figure. The greatest opportunity for ministry occurs when a tragedy such as the death of a parent occurs.

“The relationship changes with people who wouldn’t give me a chance to talk to them,” Brooksyne says. “The floodgates open.”   

If a troubled worker needs extra time with the chaplain, they can meet in a conference room, or later at a restaurant or in the Weber home.

Stephen and Brooksyne also write a devotional message at a website called Daily Encouragement. Many employees subscribe to the online Bible teaching ministry, which is based on Hebrews 3:13.

The Webers have no desire to grow their business larger for the time being. They believe it is at the optimum size to give individual attention to staff members.

“These people take their troubles with them to work and are loaded down,” Brooksyne says. “To be a presence in their menial work when they are bearing a burden is the greatest blessing of what we do.”

John W. Kennedy

John W. Kennedy served as news editor of AG News from its inception in 2014 until retiring in 2023. He previously spent 15 years as news editor of the Pentecostal Evangel and seven years as news editor at Christianity Today.