At 42 years old, Chaplain Jamil Khan has served in the military for over 10 years and just celebrated his Pinning Ceremony last month, making him a Navy Commander.
Prior to his time in the chaplaincy, Jamil was a senior pastor for 10 years, successfully leading a church that offered both Korean and English services to hundreds every week.
Jamil is also husband to his wonderful wife of 20 years, Jessica, and dad to their four children: Jeremiah, Caleb, Tirzah, and Joshua.
Jamil’s four children: Jeremiah, Caleb, Tirzah, and Joshua
However, getting to this point in his life has not been easy. Jamil shares, “It is amazing how everything has worked out. As a child, I saw all of the struggles and didn’t realize I needed those trials to develop my relationship with God. God says He wants us to have faith, and He’ll communicate with us because He wants to. Growing up I constantly reached out to God, and it drew Him closer and closer. It is the greatest blessing to know I have a heavenly Father who loves me.”
As a son to a Korean mother and a Pakistani father, Jamil’s childhood was split between his mother’s faith and love and his father’s abuse. After his mother had a dream of Jesus calling out to her, she found College Park Pentecostal Holiness Church. It offered English and Korean services and was only three miles from their home. Jamil’s Muslim father would abuse his mother because she gave too much to the church.
At 11 years old, Jamil did not think there was a God. He would cry himself to sleep wondering, if there was a God, why would He give Jamil an abusive father? One day, Jamil left his baseball items on the floor by the door, so his dad chased him around the house with his bat. Another time, he chased him around, threatening him with a butcher knife. Yet another time, he tied him up with an extension cord, threatening to throw him in the Potomac River. Jamil contemplated suicide. If he was gone, then his father would not hurt him or his mother again. He continued to struggle with his relationship with God. How could a loving God let him end up in a situation like this when others are so happy?
As he grew up, Jamil’s mother encouraged him to attend the English services at their church so he would have somewhere to grow. As time went on, Pastor Russ, from the College Park Pentecostal Holiness Church, became Jamil’s dad in every way that mattered. Pastor Russ and his wife could not have children of their own, so they “adopted” Jamil. It was during this time that his mother shared that she knew he would be a pastor; this was also when he met his future wife.
At 16 years old, Jamil realized that he was meant for ministry, so he asked God, “where do you want me?” At the time, Jamil was considering being a local pastor, military chaplain, or missionary. God confirmed that he would be a local pastor. His father did not approve of his choice and chose to leave their family with Jamil’s college savings. How was Jamil supposed to attend college without any money? His mother said, “I pay my tithe. God will provide.” Jamil attended Emmanuel College, just like his “dad”, Pastor Russ, from 1999-2003, and after becoming a senior pastor at College Park PH, the Board paid off Jamil’s college loans.
While in college, Jamil and Jessica were dating, but they had not spoken about marriage, and especially not children. However, while cleaning up after his roommates, God revealed, “Your first child will be a boy, and his name will be Jeremiah.” Jamil ran to the campus’ computer lab, logged in, and IMed Jessica: “Guess what? I got the name for our first kid.” She responded with “Jeremiah?” She had been doodling the same name, and that was Jamil’s sign they were meant to marry, and they were after graduation in June 2003.
Jamil and his wife, Jessica
At 22 years old, Jamil was now a husband, and when Pastor Russ was elected as the Conference Superintendent, he became the senior pastor of College Park PH. His biggest worry was destroying what his dad had built for the last 28 years. He served as the senior pastor for 10 years before God confirmed that he was meant for even more.
At 24 years old, Jamil’s father told him for the first time, “I’m proud of you.” He also said, “Look at what your God did. I thought I was going to destroy your life when I left and took your money but look at what your God did.
At 29 years old, while on a trip to Israel with his church, he and Pastor Russ were roomed together. Out of nowhere, Pastor Russ asked, “Have you thought about joining the military chaplaincy?” Jamil could not believe what he said because he had never told Russ that it was something he wanted to do. He called Jessica from Jerusalem: “I think I’m meant to join the chaplaincy.” She fully supported him, and he began his master’s degree in Divinity at Liberty University.
With everything going on, Jamil told God, “We’re done having children.” But God told him, “Do not kill my purpose.” And, again, Pastor Russ came in with a confirmation: “You need to have more kids.” “I know,” Jamil replied. Two months later, God spoke to Jamil again and reminded him, “I am your provider.” Soon after, Jessica revealed she was pregnant with their third child: a daughter they named Tirzah.
At 30 years old, Jamil tried to reconnect with his father but could not reach him, so he did what most people do: he googled his father’s name. A huge, beautiful home popped up in the search, but Jamil knew that could not be where his father lived. However, he continued his search and found a phone number. When he called, the woman who answered revealed she was Jamil’s sister-in-law. That would mean he had a brother, and she confirmed: “Yes, a brother and three sisters.” Jamil was shocked, and he decided to take his two sons with him to visit, unannounced. When they arrived, his father hugged him and tried to give the boys money, but Jamil refused. They talked for about an hour, and while walking around, he spotted a photo of his father on the mantle. Ironically, he also remembered when the photo was taken; he and his mother were just outside of the frame. They made plans to see each other again, this time with Jessica and Theresa, but his father’s wife would not allow it. They have not seen each other again.
At 32 years old, Jamil joined the chaplaincy. His first duty station was San Diego, California. While there, God again challenged Jamil’s obedience. Their family chooses an annual Bible verse, and for 2015, it was Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” In essence, Jamil’s family knew they needed to “move with godly fear” with respect and reverence for who God is. But, when Jamil had a dream about having another child, he argued with God. “No, this can’t be right,” he claimed, but God asked, “I thought you were going to move with godly fear?”
Chaplain Jamil Khan leads soldiers in a service.
With this revelation shared with his wife, Jamil’s next duty station became North Carolina instead of Japan. He wanted to stay close to family since they would have another child. In October of 2015, Jessica found out she was pregnant. Nine weeks later though, she had a miscarriage. Jamil could not understand why God would do this, and he was incredibly angry. God revealed to Jamil that “his growth was not her growth.” “We do not grow at the same level, so we have to figure out our own faith with fear and trembling,” Jamil reveals, and he realized it was Jessica’s time to grow.
Jessica held onto God’s promises of another child, and just months later, she revealed to Jamil that she was pregnant. Their youngest son, Joshua, is now 7 years old.
As a chaplain, Jamil has the opportunity to share God’s truth with servicemen around the world. “Chaplaincy is great because I’m away from the pulpit walking in others’ spaces and am able to pour into people’s lives who aren’t Christians,” Jamil exclaims. He has helped Wiccans, Agnostics, Hindus, Muslims, and more because “The military has a way of breaking people, and when people are that broken, they look for something that is real.” Jamil feels like David standing among pagan kings, commanding officers who are like Nebuchadnezzar, but Jamil knows that God has placed him there for “such a time as this.”
Jamil plans on returning to the states after his time in Japan is finished because his three oldest children plan to attend Emmanuel University. When he retires at 52, Jamil plans to become a missionary. “I won’t have to worry about raising funds because I’ll have a government pension for the rest of my life,” Jamil states.
Growing up, Jamil questioned whether God was real and where he was meant to serve. Throughout his life, God has proven himself and provided for Jamil and his family. Now, Jamil declares, “I have a God who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords over my life. Seeing the struggles and pain that I had to go through makes me realize that pain has become my greatest blessing and allowed me to develop a relationship with our living God. Our greatest pain becomes our greatest blessing.”
