Sherri Allsbury

A company would benefit from hiring me as a corporate chaplain for many reasons. In my early adult life, I studied Theology and Music Ministry at Ozark Christian College, completing a Bachelor’s degree. After college, my husband and I worked in paid, vocational ministry for over fifteen years, followed by ten years of full-time work in business marketing. We were then called again to full-time ministry and currently help run a family-focused, non-profit organization called Family-iD. Among these life focuses, I have held many positions that have prepared me for the life of a corporate chaplain. I have been a parent coach, a school teacher, an activities director, a program coordinator, and an AA sponsor. In addition, people from all walks and experiences have impacted my life as I have impacted them. For example, I have worked with parents of infants to adults; those with aging parents; those going through divorce; those who have experienced a death in the family. Each of these encounters has taught me wisdom and understanding when interacting with people in hard places. I am able to genuinely mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. I have experienced a full life, complete with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I can genuinely say that there are very few experiences I have not gone through. I have five children ranging in age from 13 to 32. Five different souls, with different needs, and different personalities have taught me how to approach each person I encounter with an individual touch. My life has been met with sorrow and joy; for example, when I was in my early thirties, my baby brother, who was 25 at the time, spent several months in ICU, paralyzed, on the brink of death. I spent many long nights with him, praying for him, talking to him. He made a nearly full recovery, and the joy of the miracle still lives on. I, personally, have experienced unemployment, the loss of a home to a fire, and a close family member going through divorce. On the other hand, I have experienced the joys of being surprised by a pregnancy after a hard season, of seeing my children graduate from high school and college, and of watching my daughter fall in love and get married. Life is full of heartaches and heart swells, and all of my life experiences have brought me to an understanding that people need people. At one point, every person needs to know that he or she is not alone in the struggle, that someone else has experienced it, and that the feelings are not so unusual. There are times people just need to talk to someone who is safe and outside of their world, someone who can be objective, someone who will show compassion, empathy and understanding, someone who will work together with them to find some relief or sense of peace and gain the strength to properly cope with the challenge. Over the years, I have acquired a toolbag of concrete strategies for overcoming obstacles. As a corporate chaplain, I can provide suggestions, or I can simply be a friendly face to listen to or pray for those in need. I want to be an extension of the One who loves His people unendingly, constantly pointing them to Him who created each of his children, lovingly, and on purpose.