Gershon Ormeo

I believe that God is calling me back to the Navy to finish what I started. When I reflect how I enlisted in the Navy in 2004 fresh out of high school, I’m awed. The irony is that joining the armed forces or getting into construction was not on my mind until my senior year and before I knew it, I was sitting in front of an ambitious Navy recruiter. Within a couple months, I was off to the races in the Navy as a Seabee. My experiences in the Navy gave me new insights into military life. These insights include the struggles the men and women in uniform go through every day. Struggles such as how to make ends meet, loneliness, or not fitting in with their unit or peers. I feel empathy for them because I was once in this position. God is telling me that my nine years in the service was not wasted; it’s been a part of His plan from my first day in the service. I am called to finish what I started in the US Navy.

Despite my hesitation to follow God’s call into ministry, He has equipped me. When my 5-year active duty drew to a close, I thought about my options. While I loved my Navy career, I was not convinced that the Navy was my calling, at least as a Seabee, and I chose to explore my civilian options. I began my civilian life in a rut and for the next year I struggled with odd jobs and making enough money to pay my bills. Then I developed an interest in owning my own business and decided to go to Colorado Christian University in the Fall of 2010. I chose CCU because I was hungry for God’s love and wanted to be near His people. When I realized that most successful business owners did not go to college, paused my educational pursuits and went back to blue collar jobs until I met my future wife, Sarah, in 2017. Several months after we began dating, she encouraged me to finish my BA in Biblical Studies. She told me that I excel at any biblical or ministerial work. To prove this to myself, I finished my undergrad strongly. Clearly, God has equipped me and given me a hunger in my soul for ministry. 

Not only has God called and equipped me for Navy Chaplaincy and the Navy Chaplain Program, He has instilled a heart in me for the men and women in uniform across the world. God is bringing my story together and I believe that He will use every season in my life for His glory. Every part of it, good or bad, will be redeemed and is used by God. For example, one of my jobs was driving the garbage truck. This job would drain all my energy after working 10-12 hours per day and 5 days a week at a very fast pace. However, it taught me to keep going when life is tough and reminded me of the value of hard work and resilience. Also, there have been many small, but important affirmations that support my pursuit of Navy chaplaincy. I have been told on several occasions that I am an excellent listener and that I have good bedside manners. On the Navy side, I have always been someone that my fellow Seabees turned to when they needed to talk to someone. 

As for leadership experience in ministry, it is a work in progress as the pursuit of my calling is in its infancy. In my church, I am a Co-Sunday school teacher in the elementary rooms twice a month since May 15th, 2022. I am called to be a Navy Chaplain Candidate and will use this time to gain more leadership experience in the church and enrich my education.

Currently, I am working through my first unit of Clinic Pastoral Education (CPE) at Denver Health. Before my pursuit of Navy Chaplaincy, I did maintenance for Covenant Living of Colorado. While I was there, I did practice informal pastoral care by establishing relationships with the people I served and checking in on them as necessary even if no maintenance needed to be done in their unit.  Outside of CPE, I am new to hospital chaplain and would like the chance to get my foot in the door through a PRN chaplain position. 

I am in my final semester at Denver Seminary. In a month, I will have a master's in divinity with a concentration on chaplaincy. My undergraduate degree is in biblical studies from Colorado Christian University in 2019.