ORLANDO, Fla. — Two things you immediately want to know about the Salvation Army’s Ken Chapman:

He goes by “Captain.” And his closet is boring.

“ … very boring,” he says.

Chapman says his closet sports four copies of the uniform that defines his life, with extra white shirts, black pants, and ties.

The uniform features an officer’s hat and a blue blazer with shoulder patches and an “S” on each lapel. He calls it his wedding suit, funeral suit, and work suit.

He wears it so proudly that it’s a wonder he takes it off.

“I jump out of bed every day and put the uniform on, because I'm so excited to serve,” Chapman said.

Chapman serves as co-area commander of the Salvation Army of Orange and Osceola counties. He does so with his wife, Captain Jessie Chapman, who wears a similar uniform.

The Chapmans this afternoon led the Salvation Army’s distribution of food boxes and frozen turkeys as part of its traditional Thanksgiving service. They gave out enough food to feed 10,000 people, Ken Chapman said.

On Thanksgiving Day, he and his wife say they plan to distribute another 5,000 to-go meals, rather than — because of the coronavirus pandemic — oversee a traditional Thanksgiving sit-down dinner.

“It's a calling,” Ken Chapman said. “It's not a job.”

How They Changed Their Lives

About 13 years ago, Ken and Jessie Chapman worked in Georgia, him as an event producer and her as a human resources executive. They gave up their careers, they said, for lives as officers in the Salvation Army.

They had to sell their cars and home — everything including their dishes and towels, Jessie Chapman said.

The organization wants its officers devoted only to the mission, and it wants them nimble so that it can send them, on short notice, anywhere in the world to promote its ministry.

The Salvation Army points out that it’s a “Christian organization and part of the universal Christian church.” Lay members are soldiers. Officers such as the Chapmans carry military-style ranks based on service, character, devotion to duty, and more, according to the organization.

Officer candidates typically must undergo two years of Salvation Army coursework on topics such as organizational doctrine, Bible studies, sociology, social work, and public speaking.

Because the Chapmans stand as fourth-generation Salvationists, Ken Chapman said, they immediately took officer ranks and completed course work as they served the organization.

“We Have A New Life”

Both now serve as ordained ministers as well as leaders of an Orlando operation that employs about 75, plus hundreds of volunteers, Ken Chapman said.

“We didn't give up our lives,” his wife said. “We have a new life because of the calling that God has given to us.”

Even when he owned his own production business, Ken Chapman said he stayed active in the organization until he and his wife decided to give their lives to it.

The Salvation Army transferred the Chapmans to Orlando from Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2018. They live on property that the organization owns in East Orlando, and they carry the stress and pressure of helping to feed and assist the some of the region’s most vulnerable.

“I don't regret a day of it,” Ken Chapman said. “If you work out your ‘why’ — why you do what you do — the 'what' and the 'how' fall into place. And that’s how I feel in my life. I’m a blessed man.”

Bill Sweet, a volunteer and Salvation Army soldier who said he has worked with the organization for 21 years, told Spectrum News 13 that Ken and Jessie Chapman get “their boots on the ground. They get their hands dirty. They’re not asking you to do anything that they wouldn’t do themselves. You couldn’t ask for better people.”

During Tuesday’s 2-hour food and turkey distribution, Ken Chapman helped load cars with boxes of food and occasionally would pray with a driver.

He said he aimed to let those who needed help, “know they’re not alone, that somebody in this community cares about them. Our mission is to bring emotional and spiritual care to people who are hurting.”

Asked whether other businesses and organizations that also distributed turkeys on Tuesday had coordinated with his organization, Ken Chapman said they hadn’t and added: “We’ve been doing this for 155 years as an organization and 100 years in Orlando. So we know how to do this. I’m not saying that we’re the best, but we know what we’re doing. And we hope that people who have good hearts will want to join hands rather than do separate things.”

About 100 yards away on Tuesday, Jessie Chapman helped greet and direct drivers. Like her husband, she did so with a smile.

“How can we go through life without enjoying it?” she said. “You know, I don't want to be unhappy. And, in fact, this time of year, we always say, ‘Do everything with a thankful heart’ … and we try to share gratitude with other people: Let's go through life being thankful for what we have.”