Chaplain Chris

I serve as a public safety chaplain manager and chaplain educator. My passion is to see chaplains help first responders and the community in a way that honors God, their faith, and the people they serve while obeying the laws and court rulings in place to guide us. My heart is to help raise highly qualified and professional public safety chaplains. This is my “calling” and “ministry.”

Public Safety Chaplains are a wonderful group to get to know. Because of who they work with, the things they see on 911 calls, and their worldview view, they can have different motivations, struggles, and outlook on life. Based off of a major study this graphic generally shows a little bit of the public safety chaplain. For more information on this study and graphic, please feel free to contact me.

About Chaplain Chris

Chris Wade brings over two decades of combined experience in law enforcement, fire/EMS, and chaplaincy. He served as a Lieutenant and EMT with the Santa Clara Fire District in Eugene, Oregon, and later as State Fire Chaplain and Instructor at the South Carolina Fire Academy, where he also served as President of the South Carolina Public Safety Chaplains Association. A national instructor with the Federation of Fire Chaplains, Chris has trained hundreds of chaplains across the country. His current academic research focuses on the behavioral health of public safety chaplains, with an emphasis on resilience, compassion satisfaction, and the effects of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Blending real-world field experience with academic insight, Chris teaches through the lenses of trauma-informed ministry, servant leadership, and systems theory. He is passionate about equipping chaplains to respond with clarity, courage, and compassion in the sacred moments where public service and human need intersect.