This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce… Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:5, 7

Plant gardens. Cultivate something that will last. That’s exactly what Generation Church of Oceanside and partnering Horizon Presbyterian Church from Phoenix were led to do. On May 28, South Mesa Chapel and its partners came together to create a memorial prayer garden in front of the chapel.

This base is the largest Marine Corps base in the country. To put it in perspective, it’s larger than the state of Rhode Island! And there are only three chapels on base. That’s like expecting three churches to meet the needs of 60,000 people.

Chaplain Marc DiConti is well aware of the need for ministry partnerships. At Blender Memorial Chapel (also known as South Mesa Chapel) on Camp Pendleton, DiConti and a small staff are working to meet the needs of many of the base's 60,000 residents. With such a large population, the transient nature of people on base (including chaplains), and an ever decreasing budget, military chapels can easily get overloaded without support from partnering organizations, DiConti said.

“We (chaplains) come and go every two years. Outside organizations offer stability we can’t bring.”

Fortunately, Generation Church has responded to the need for long-term partners. For Chris Martinez, a church planter working with Generation, the prayer garden is just the beginning of a relationship with the Chapel. He hopes this partnership will “not be a one-time project, but ongoing.”

Despite the increasing need for partners, when asked what is the chapel’s greatest need, Chaplain DiConti said, “We need prayer!”

The memorial prayer garden will provide a meaningful place for people to do just that.

Once the project is completed, a plaque will be placed as a memorial to those who’ve lost someone in battle. “We’ve all lost someone in some way,” said Josh, a Marine who attends Generation Church, who took the day off to help with the project.

Beyond dealing with loss, many Marines deal with the emotional wounds of war, including Traumatic Stress Injury. Chaplains are left with the daunting task of responding to this great need, yet DiConti says one of the greatest ways to respond is prayer.

“Why not use prayer to help them? Why not use that to bring them in?”