FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3.16.13

PastorMike officially a 'Pastor of Disaster'!

Workplace Chaplain Michael "PastorMike" Tummillo was in Austin March 15-16 in order to complete Parts II & III of the International Chaplain Academy (ICA) Chaplain Academy course in association with the renowned Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN). The 30-hr course included such topics as Crisis Intervention, Psychological First-Aid, Death Notification, Suicides, Conflict Resolution, and more. Tummillo is now a Certified Chaplain with the ADRN and received an Internationally-recognized certificate from ICA. 

Because of his professional role as a licensed and ordained Workplace Chaplain since 2005, immediately following his graduation presentation, he was asked to speak with a core group of Austin-area ADRN Chaplains desiring to learn from his Workplace Chaplaincy experiences.

The ICA training was facilitated by Melissa Slagle, Founder of ICA. Slagle is the Chaplain with the Tulsa County Sheriff, a Professor at Southern Nazarene University, Tulsa, Living Solutions Christian Counseling, Living Solutions Crisis Mgmt Training & Consultants, and has served on the Crises Incident teams at many disasters. She has been called out to help disaster victims world-wide in almost every major disaster since Mount St. Helen.  Melissa is a Certified Traumatic-Stress Specialist (CTS), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT).  Additional catastrophic incidents in which she has served include the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Bastrop fire, Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the Joplin tornado and many more. Slagle says her desire is to "duplicate herself" by training many more Chaplains around the nation and she hopes God will raise up trained and certified Chaplains who will be willing to train others around the nation. Tummillo sees this as a perfect fit with his own ministry saying, "I have been endorsing Workplace Chaplains through The Church at Work for several years... it's my heart's desire, too, to train others, essentially, giving the ministry away."

Tummillo is convinced that, with the increasing frequency of disasters across the globe, in the days ahead, there will be a worldwide necessity for additional Crisis Chaplains. "Sad to say, I'm convinced the Bastrop fire - a fire that destroyed 1700+ homes - will seem like small potatoes in contrast to what's coming... we who Follow Christ can have a calming effect on the lives of multitudes of people who will lose everything, including loved ones, an introduce them to Christ in us, the hope of glory. During disasters, though many Followers of Christ mean well, authorities say many tend to do more harm than good because of the lack of training."

Men and women of all denominations who feel inclined to be endorsed as Chaplains are asked to prayerfully consider this important ministry.

Please forward this article to friends and family who might be feeling called into this ministry.

CHAPLAINCY TRAINING THRU ADRN - Courses available throughout the year need NOT be taken in any particular order!