Mahlon LeCroix believes pastors should practice what they preach.
“I wanted to start hanging out with people who were not believers because that’s what I have been asking my church members to do,” said LeCroix, senior pastor of Shoal Creek Church in Priceville, Alabama.
“I’ve been in ministry for 10 years and all my friends are saved,” he added.
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So LeCroix began serving as a chaplain with a local motorcycle club and Priceville High School.
The school role was a natural fit as he is a former football coach at Priceville High and already knew the principal and other coaches and players. He gave up coaching as Shoal Creek began to grow.
When a new coach, Seth Parker, came in last year, he did not want LeCroix to leave the program and asked him to serve as a chaplain in a limited role.
This year LeCroix was there through the entire season.
As he prayed about how to reach the players, he felt God leading him to preach through the book of Joshua.
As the season progressed, LeCroix asked Parker — who is a believer — if he could give an invitation at the end of one of his final devotions. He reminded players that Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
“I asked them if anybody wanted to choose Christ today,” LeCroix recalled, and seven team members stood up and made professions of faith.
“We baptized them right there in the team’s ice tub — without the ice,” LeCroix said with a laugh.
Parker observed that it has been “a blessing for our football program to have Mahlon LeCroix as our team chaplain this season. Not only does he motivate us as followers of Christ, but his messaging has been inspiring for us on the field as well.“
“Brother Mahlon has been a blessing for our team, and the day that he baptized seven of our players was probably my favorite day as a coach,” Parker said. “We are so blessed by the relationship our program has with him and look forward to his fellowship and messages for our program for years to come.”
LeCroix noted that two of the players have attended Shoal Creek Church, and most are being discipled at the school by Jonny Pool, youth pastor and a member of the coaching staff.
Pool said it’s a blessing to serve the kids and coaches of the football team and to have a pastor who “pours into the lives of the players and students in my youth ministry as well. God is good and is always on the move.”
Motorcycle chaplain
LeCroix also enjoys riding motorcycles. His background enabled him to gain access to various motorcycle clubs, and he now is a member of Sin City Disciples in north Alabama.
“The door opened for me to be salt and light,” LeCroix said.
“Motorcyclists need a pastor too, but unfortunately a lot of them are not welcome in churches or they don’t feel comfortable in church. I attend their meetings and I am there to share the truth when I have the opportunity to do so,” he added.
“Most motorcyclists have road names and [t]hey call me Preacher because that’s who I am and I don’t hide it. Everybody knows it. They just accept me.”
Gaining trust
Though none has accepted Christ as Savior, LeCroix has built relationships and gained the motorcyclists’ trust in order to share the gospel, and he ministers to them when opportunities arise.
LeCroix expressed appreciation to the members of Shoal Creek for allowing him to serve as a chaplain, especially with the motorcycle club.
“They know that I’m out with a bunch of nonbelievers at times and they are perfectly okay with it as long as I’m sharing the gospel and being salt and light,” he explained.
Some churches will not allow their pastor to serve because of the time involved, LeCroix acknowledged.
“I’m at the high school and the motorcycle club a lot and the church allows me to do it. Fruit is being produced because of it and that’s a blessing.”
