Booming In Boulder by Ashley Oliver

Booming in Boulder

One year ago I could never have imagined where chaplaincy would be in our region. Chaplaincy at Boulder Police Department started in April of 2022, but not without many years of praying and waiting for God to open those doors. Just two and a half years later, God opened doors for fully developed chaplain programs in Louisville PD, Lafayette PD, and Erie PD. We are in the process of developing chaplaincy at CUPD, Mountain View Fire, and Boulder Fire. In July we knew we had a need of eleven new chaplains minimum to staff each agency. As of September 14th, we have filled four of those roles with three confirmed new interests. 

This kind of regional development is happening in counties across the front range. More than a structured plan or having plenty of people, this starts with relationships. When a chaplain starts to show up, is available, and is dependable, people talk. 

One of our agencies was planning their Annual Award Ceremony. When the idea of an Invocation at the ceremony came up, one of the sergeants objected saying, “why do we need to bring religion into this?” The response was, “well, rather than religion, how about we ask the chaplain?” There was a resounding yes from the team - including this sergeant - because they knew, trusted, and liked the person they had in place. 

This is how we build chaplaincy - one relationship at a time.