Life in a military family is chaotic! As my family says, “It’s always an adventure!” Between moving every three to four years, deployments, and constant goodbyes to friends, my life has had one constant — never ending change.
This does not mean I resent my life. Quite the opposite! My father is an active duty, military chaplain, and because of his career choice, we have had the opportunity to live overseas and see places most only read about. I consider myself blessed to have experienced military life, partially because I believe it was training me for the mission to which God has called me.
I remember learning we were moving to Spain in 2014. To say I was excited would be an understatement! I had heard about Spain and other European destinations in class and had seen them in movies. My mind began racing with all the possible places to explore and new experiences to be enjoyed.
Another part of me was scared and sad because I realized I was moving away from some of my best friends. I was not unfamiliar with moving. At the time, my family and I were serving as church planters in Colorado, far from our extended family in Alabama. Before that, we had moved from one church to another because my dad was a pastor. But this was different. We weren’t just leaving friends and family; we were leaving our country. We would move across the ocean to another continent where we did not speak the language.
Regardless, we had to move. When we arrived in Spain and I started school, I remember being escorted by a fellow student who showed me where classes would be. Each new person I met asked the same question: “How long are you here?” Looking back, I realize what this question truly meant.
Military kids are good at goodbyes. So, when a military kid asks, “How long are you here?” we are really asking, “How invested can I become in this relationship without being hurt?” It’s a defense mechanism. If you’re only there for six months to a year, there’s no point in getting too deeply invested in the relationship — despite how flawed this logic may be.
I also have been guilty of asking this question, and I believe it points to a deeper issue in the lives of military children, and the entire military community. The question exposes a deeper longing for intentional connections and a sense of belonging to a “lasting” community.
Military and missionary kids are often referred to as third culture kids. This is a term coined by sociologists to describe a child who grows up in a different culture than either parent. Third culture kids’ biggest struggle is feeling they don’t belong anywhere or fit into a group. To be completely honest, I still battle this. Thankfully, because I am a believer, I know I belong to a much larger family that spans the globe. However, this is not the case for a vast majority of military children and their families. This provides an open door for the gospel.
One of our first Sundays in Spain, we met the Johnson family. They were, and still are, members of an organization called Cadence International. They were living in Spain to provide hospitality ministry for military families. Their whole purpose was to live out the mission statement of Cadence: to share the gospel and their lives with the military community.
Nate and Louise served in the chapel weekly and opened their home to military families for home-cooked meals and Bible study. They even started a youth group that met in their house. Nate became my mentor and has continued to mentor me for a decade. In fact, Nate and another Cadence missionary named Kevin helped me answer the call to ministry. Through the ministry of Cadence, I finally felt I had a place to belong while living overseas. Because of the impact of Cadence on my life, I believe God has called and equipped me to carry out the same ministry to other military families and children.
Beginning October 11, 2024, I became a missionary with Cadence International, and I’m currently fundraising. This is the final stage I must complete before entering the field. Currently, I do not know where I will be deployed, but I know what I will be doing. I will be continuing the mission of Cadence to share the gospel and my life with the military community. I will be paired up with an existing Cadence ministry, most likely here in the United States for now, serving alongside them. I’ll help in the chapel each week, assist with ministry nights, plan events and outings, teach, and open my own home to welcome service members.
My fiancé Emma will join me in this ministry once we are married. I want to focus on single service members, as many of them are away from home for the first time, making major life choices with little guidance. At Cadence, we believe in incarnational ministry, being the hands and feet of Jesus in the military community.
I ask for your prayers as I continue fundraising and when I eventually reach the field. I also ask you to pray for our military servicemembers to be receptive to the gospel.
About the Writer: Ethan McCraney is a new missionary with Cadence International, an organization focused on ministering to the military community and reaching them with the gospel. The son of Free Will Baptist Navy Chaplain Mark McCraney (Danielle), Ethan has served alongside his family in Alabama, Colorado, Spain, Virginia, and North Carolina. Learn more at cadence.org/mccraney/.
