Jim Hand is ready to help and at a moment’s notice.  A Naval religious program specialist currently stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, Hand looks for opportunities to meet the needs of those around him. 

“God has burdened me for young Marines and sailors,” Hand, member of Shell Point Baptist Church in Beaufort, said.  When Hand shares his life experiences, it becomes clear how this follower of Christ sees his role on his mission field – and in Kingdom growth. 

Hand met his wife in a Bible study more than 20 years ago while he was attending a junior college in Illinois.  They married and, after completing two years of college, Hand joined the Navy.  As a Naval religious program specialist, Hand works closely with chaplains on the Marine military base by handling administrative duties, publicity and other services including protecting the chaplain during combat. 

Jim and his wife faced difficult experiences as a young married couple.  Their daughter Katie, now 18, was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and a son Brett, now 16, has cerebral palsy.  Brett’s twin brother Brian died at seven months of age having never having left the hospital’s intensive care unit.  During these difficult times, Jim and his wife were stationed away from home, family and close friends. 

God has used the isolation and loneliness they felt to give them a burden for other young people in the military, Hand said.

“Sharing Christ with people becomes a matter of building relationships,” Hand said.  He goes about building these relationships by offering a ride to a sailor who needs to go off base, or to a Marine who is interested in going to church on Sunday morning.  Hand said it’s amazing how often he will run into someone that he is praying for when he would rarely see them before.

Hand is currently discipling a young sailor through a weekly Bible study.  In keeping with his willingness to help, Hand said during one recent Sunday night church service he received a call from this sailor who was stranded in Macon, Ga., with a broken down car.  Hand left immediately to help and made it back to Beaufort after 1 a.m. the next morning.  “I was more than happy to help,” Hand said.

The South Carolina Baptist Convention recently received an email from a missionary with the Heartland Baptist Association in South Dakota.  The missionary requested help for a young Marine from South Dakota who is stationed at the Beaufort airbase and needs transportation to a local church.  The Associational Services Group contacted the Savannah River Association, who got the word out to Hand’s pastor, Rev. Derris Davenport. 

“I am looking forward to contacting this young Marine, and seeing how I can help him.  If God can use me to get him to a church and into a right relationship with Him, then that’s why I am here,” Hand said.

Hand hopes to see a Christian Servicemen Center begin in the Beaufort area, which is also home to one of two United States Marine basic camps – called a Marine Corps Recruit Depot - on Parris Island.  He said a ministry directed toward the military is vital, because it is easy for people to “fall through the cracks” at that point in their lives.

As he looks forward to an early military retirement this September, Hand will undoubtedly continue to minister to those around him – and in so doing will continue to empower Kingdom growth.