Operation Barnabas
What is Operation Barnabas?
Operation Barnabas is a program of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Ministry to the Armed Forces. Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church (SOTC), Palm Coast, FL, is an Operation Barnabas Congregation. We reach out, pray and support veterans and military families of deployed troops in our church and community.
Our Adopted Chaplain
“Adopt a Chap” is a program of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Ministry of the Armed Forces, that links congregations with chaplains.
In 2020 SOTC—Operation Barnabas decided to participate in the “Adopt a Chap” program. By fall of 2020 we got the news that Chaplain Cody Norton and his family are our adopted Chaplain family. What a joy to keep in touch with this young family.
We are to regularly keep the chaplain and his family in prayer and learn about his specialized ministry in the military. No financial commitment or aid is needed or expected. This is the Church working together, encouraging and supporting one another in mission to our men and women serving in our nation’s Armed Forces.
Meet Chaplain Cody Norton
US Army: Deployed
Chaplain Cody Norton grew up in Dripping Springs, TX. He and his wife Katie graduated in 2012 from Concordia University Texas. In 2016, he graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. He served Christ Lutheran Church in Wathena, KS for four years before receiving a call to serve as an active-duty Army Chaplain.
After attending a Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course in July 2020 at Fort Jackson, SC, he was assigned to his current unit, First Squadron, 7th Calvary Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, out of Fort Hood, TX.
The Norton family lives in Fort Hood, TX. Chaplain Cody and Katie have four young daughters — Eleanor, Juliet, Dorothy, and Adelaide. Katie homeschools their children. Their fifth child is due this summer.
