First Responders 1st started in January of 2018 by Lonnie Clouse. Lonnie previously served for 17 years as a chaplain to the NASCAR community with Motor Racing Outreach (MRO).  As the 2017 season came to a close, MRO announced a significant downsizing due to lack of funding, causing his chaplaincy role to be eliminated.  Shocked and discouraged, Lonnie began to question his purpose and calling in ministry.

Lonnie stumbled on a book by Craig Groeschel entitled “Chazown” that had a huge impact on his life. In his book Groeschel encourages his readers to do something for a living that they have a passion for and would do for free.  That’s when the alarm bells went off in his mind.  He had been serving with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department as a volunteer chaplain for the past 2 years, and he loved being involved in the lives of these officers. After much prayer and counsel from trusted advisors, the Lord confirmed to Lonnie that he needed to start his own ministry (non-profit) for first responders to provide emotional and support for those who are on the front lines serving and protecting our communities.

Lonnie then reached out to his local Chief of Police for the Concord, NC Police Department.  This department has nearly 200 officers with no functioning chaplaincy program.  The Chief sent out a survey to 100 officers, and 97 of them welcomed a chaplaincy presence within the department.  From there, other opportunities presented themselves within the first responder community.  The need is great, but FR1 needs more sponsorship and a solid core group of volunteer chaplains to meet the needs of first responders. The goal is to provide support for other first responders also, not just exclusively law enforcement, as resources and manpower become available.

Thank you for your care and compassion for our first responders. Please take time to pray for them today. These men and women deal with many traumatic events, and are in need of our support. Would you please consider how you can come alongside FR1?