CHAPLAIN’S MISSION FIELD HAS MANY TWISTS

PIGEON FORGE — The backdrop for Joey Buck’s mission field looks quite different from most others. It contains roller coasters, log flumes and funnel cakes.  

And yet, Buck shares the same roles and goals that most ministers have. His aim is to “provide Christlike care and compassion” to those in his harvest area. 

Buck is the chaplain of Dollywood, the popular theme park and resort in Pigeon Forge that ranks among Tennessee’s top tourist attractions. 

As a full-time employee of the park, Buck provides ministry services to employees and guests, including leading a weekly worship service at Robert F. Thomas Chapel. Buck also provides counseling and discipleship, and leads special Christmas services at the historic chapel that is nestled among the park’s thrill rides, restaurants, soundstages and shops (see related sidebar HERE). 

Buck is well aware that being a park chaplain is an unusual occupation, but he said there is no doubt that he is right where the Lord wants him to be. 

“I never intended to find myself here,” said Buck, who earned his masters from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary “but God has continued to lead me into this passion and this career path.”

Although the weekly worship gatherings at the Dollywood chapel — held each Sunday during the park’s operating season — would classify as “non-denominational,” Buck has many tie-ins to Tennessee Baptists. 

Buck, in fact, said he is a “missionary of the Sevier County Baptist Association.” He has a long-standing partnership with the association, and often attends the SCBA’s events and functions, including serving on the association’s executive council. Also, some of the churches from the association supply volunteers who help with the worship services at Dollywood, passing out bulletins and helping guests find a place to sit. 

Justin Johnson, director of missions for Sevier County Baptist Association, said the partnership with Buck is an exciting bond.  

“I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know that we have the opportunity to support Joey in his ministry at Dollywood in very tangible ways,” Johnson said. “Having Joey affiliated with our association is a huge blessing because he gives back just as much, if not more, to our churches in terms of resources, opportunities to serve and the stories of life-change happenings as a result of prayer.”

Johnson noted that he and Buck have an annual tradition of prayer-walking through the park each year before Dollywood opens for the season. Together, they pray for the guests who will come through the park and for Buck’s ministry as a whole.  

Johnson said he considers Buck to be a mentor  for his own ministry, and added that the SCBA’s relationship with Buck is “exciting because he has the unique opportunity to reach people at a theme park who may not step foot in one of our churches. I know without a doubt that each person that comes through the chapel on any given Sunday will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Buck, who served as a stateside missionary with NAMB early in his ministry, became the park chaplain at Dollywood in 2013. 

“All these years later, I continue to greet the day’s work with passion,” he said. “It excites me to know I am empowered — through both my job description and the Spirit’s working in my life — to reveal the presence of God to those who live, work and play in this place of the Great Smoky Mountains.”

Buck said social media, of all things, played a key role in leading him to his position as chaplain at Dollywood.

“The previous chaplain, who was a personal friend, messaged me on Facebook and suggested that I submit an application,” said Buck, who joked, “So, I like to tell people I got my job from Facebook.”

BUSY WORKLOAD

Working at a park where Dolly Parton is part owner, it would seem fitting for Buck to have a “9 to 5” work schedule.

But in actuality, Buck — like most pastors — works many “off hours” while meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of the park’s employees and guests. 

Recently, for instance, when an elderly guest at Dollywood suffered a heart attack (caused by health issues unrelated to anything at the park), Buck quickly responded by going to the hospital to minister to the man’s family.

Buck said situations such as that represent some of his most important roles. Being the hands and feet of Jesus to someone who is far from home is a vital assignment, he said.

Johnson underscored that sentiment, noting that Buck is making an impact for Christ with the guests. “I know God is using him every day to be a blessing to someone,” said Johnson. “ I fully believe in what Joey is doing.”

When it comes to developing relationships with the congregation, that can be challenging for Buck, considering that the congregation generally changes from week to week. 

Each Sunday, the little chapel hosts a packed house of 200-plus guests, comprised almost exclusively of people who are spending the day at Dollywood. That means they won’t likely be back the following week — or perhaps not for another year or longer. 

Still, Buck does his best to form relationships. He stands at the back of the chapel before and after each service, greeting guests when they arrive and giving them a personal goodbye when they leave. 

In addition to his Sunday interactions, Buck also fulfills the more “traditional” pastoral duties, such as hosting Bible studies and other ministries for park employees.

Interestingly, Dollywood is the only theme park in the country that employees a full-time chaplain, and is one of only two parks — along with Silver Dollar City in Missouri — to have a chapel / church inside the park. 

GIVING BACK

Buck said he enjoys pouring into the lives of others and helping them grow in their spiritual walk. It is his way of giving back to those who have supported his own journey.   

He said he would not be where he is today if it had not been for the loyalty of church members across the nation, many of whom might not ever know his name. 

“It is because of the Cooperative Program and other ministries of our SBC churches that I found my way to this ministry,” said Buck. “Youth camp in an SBC church, Baptist Student Ministry in college, summer missions experiences, (NAMB’s) US-C/2 Missions and the mentoring and influence of Resort Missionaries placed by the Home Mission Board all played a part in me getting here.” 

Buck, who now maintains his official chaplain endorsement through NAMB, felt called to ministry during his college days at Stephen F, Austin State University is in Nacogdoches, Texas . While there, he became active in the school’s Baptist Student Ministry, and being a part of that group changed his life, he said.

“It was during that time when I first saw life lived in accountability and discipleship throughout the ongoing journey of being made into a new creation,” he said. “The desire to make Christ king of my life, more than just a savior, became real as I learned to let go of my old self and allow the Spirit of God to change my mind and heart.”  

After Buck completed his undergraduate studies in biology, the director of the Baptist Student Ministry encouraged him to pursue a US-C/2 with NAMB. Buck later accepted placement as a missionary to Jackson Hole, Wy., working with a local church in the resort and leisure community. 

Buck went on to earn a masters of Christian education degree from SWBTS and maintained relationships with NAMB and other resort missionaries. At that point, he was introduced to the possibility of becoming a paid missionary in a resort destination community. 

“With each opportunity for a decision to be made in my vocational path, I brought the challenge to God in a dynamic dialogue, searched the Scriptures and sought counsel with my wife,” he said. “Each time, I followed the next right idea.”

Buck, of course, doesn’t know what the “next right idea” might be. For now, he remains enthusiastic about his unique mission field, where the sound of a train whistle and the smell of freshly made pork rinds are just a normal part of the worship service.  B&R