Standing Beside America’s Heroes

Because of you, chaplains like Andrew Lloyd stand ready to serve when the families of America’s heroes face their hardest moments.

When Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Andrew Lloyd stands beside a grieving family at Arlington National Cemetery, he’s fulfilling a calling that donors like you helped make possible.

Years ago, Andrew served as an enlisted airman in the Honor Guard at Arlington, rendering military honors for the fallen. Today, he returns to those same hallowed grounds daily as a chaplain, offering hope to families in what is often the most difficult moment of their lives.

“Recently, during a burial service for a fallen airman, I knelt before his widow to present the flag,” Andrew recalls. “The words of that presentation are so rich: ‘On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Air Force, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.’ She was trying desperately to hold it together. But, in that moment, she broke down. So, while I said those words,
I placed my hand on hers. Just a human touch, in a moment she’ll carry the rest of her days.”

That kind of compassionate ministry didn’t happen by accident. It took root years earlier in Washington, D.C., where Andrew connected with Regent alumni planting a church. He enrolled in Regent’s online undergraduate program while on active duty, then returned for his Master of Divinity to become an Air Force chaplain. Friends like you had already paved the way for him and others answering that same call.

“Probably half of my undergraduate degree and my seminary degree was paid for through donors’ funds,” Andrew says, “because they matched what the military would pay per credit hour.”

That gift didn’t just cover tuition. It shaped a calling. “I don’t want to sound like I’m exaggerating,” Andrew says, “but I would not be where I am today without Regent University.”

Because of that generosity, Andrew learned to carry the light of Christ into the most sacred moments imaginable. A few years ago, that training met him graveside as he prepared to bury a beloved grandmother of 15 grandchildren.

“All the grandkids, some as young as 4, came running toward me and sat right where the family usually sits,”Andrew recalls. “My remarks are normally written for adults. But everyone had told me how much this woman loved the Lord and wanted her grandkids to love Him, too. So, I shifted, turning our traditional graveside reading of the 23rd Psalm into a Sunday school lesson about how their grandmother had lived out David’s words.”

The parents cried. The kids stayed fully engaged. Afterward, the family told Andrew he made the children feel like they were part of honoring their grandmother, too.

Andrew is quick to credit the donors behind it. “They directly contributed to something that has made my life and my ministry possible,” he says.

When you invest in Regent, you’re investing in Christian leaders like Andrew — leaders who will serve in churches, courtrooms, classrooms, and even at Arlington National Cemetery.

“If not us, then who?” Andrew asks. “The mission’s a big one, and it’s not getting smaller.”

To the donors who already helped Andrew answer God’s call to serve — thank you. But so many other bright, deserving students need the same bridge: one that equips them to follow God’s call and change the world for God’s glory.

Will you help build it today?