Spotlight: Phil Lockwood: Prepared by Life to Minister

You could say Phil Lockwood had been preparing for his role as Discipleship Pastor and Chaplain for Living Hope Church in Dixon most of his life. In fact, his passion for the work he does with high school students stems from his own school experience; “The kids I work with are the ones people consider misfits. Nobody wants anything to do with them. I was one of those kids. 

“I’ve had severe learning disabilities all my life – reading and spelling and everything. I went all the way through school barely making it. I was made fun of and bullied. That was really painful and traumatic.”

Once he was done with high school, Phil never envisioned going back. His education came elsewhere. “God took me to a different place,” he explains. “I was looking for some way to soothe the pain and that led me down a path to drugs. Because of that lifestyle I ended up doing 13 months in a California state prison outside Tracy and that’s where I had a be still and know God moment.

A Voice and a Platform

“I got into the Word of God and in the pursuit of Jesus I watched the transformation of my life. I’ve never been to seminary, but when I look at my life, I see that God has given me a voice and a platform I really shouldn’t have.”

Phil and his wife, Angela, are founding members of Living Hope Church, but for years his vocation was welding. Almost ten years ago, Phil sensed God was asking him to step away from his work as a welding fabricator. “It felt like God wanted me to step into ministry in our community, but He didn’t reveal to me what I was supposed to do for two and a half years.”

Eventually Phil took on the full-time role at Living Hope Church. He explains just what a discipleship pastor is; “First and foremost for me a discipleship pastor lives a life that really reflects Christ in a way that people want to know, why do you care for me? Why do you love me the way you do? Why do you treat me the way you do? Tell me more so I can be like that.”

Back in the Classroom

Phil returned to the classroom and began mentoring youth at Maine Prairie High School. “It’s the continuation high school for kids just like me.”

Following a tragedy that devastated the school community, Phil was called in to talk to the students. “It takes a lot for these kids to trust people. They didn’t want to talk to any counselors. We started meeting in the park on Wednesdays to process their feelings and emotions and work on a memorial for the kids who’d died. That’s what launched the ministry in the schools.”

Before COVID-19, Phil brought his laptop to school and sat quietly in a classroom waiting for kids to come over and talk. Not only did this become his office three days a week, it established a connection between Living Hope Church and the local schools. As a result, Phil co-founded the Solano County Faith and Education Collaborative with representatives of the school system. “It’s a cool, unique relationship. We don’t have any kind of agenda except to love these kids.”

The Collaborative has worked with the Solano County Office of Education and the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services’s Behavioral Health Division in the development of wellness centers in 45 schools throughout Solano County.

“If a kid is dealing with any kind of issue or they just need a break, they can go to one of these wellness centers,” Phil explains. “The intent is to have a caring adult volunteer from our faith-based group assess whether this kid needs to see a clinician or just needs to have a conversation. The Superintendent told us, ‘your church is actually showing an example of what it is to unconditionally love people you don’t even know.’”

Although pandemic protocols preclude volunteers from coming to campus right now, Phil is focused on preparing individuals to respond to youth mental health crises by recruiting people and organizing their training which includes first aid, mandated reporting, and suicide prevention.

Reaching a Diverse Community

In addition to the outreach to students, Phil is a community chaplain. “Being a chaplain is a way of ministering and meeting the felt needs of people which is what we saw Jesus do all the time. I’m always looking for ways to build bridges. As a chaplain, a lot of times I run into families that have either no faith structure or are of different faiths. They get to see Jesus in some way through me. 

“I’ve got a high school education, but God has given me a spiritual gift that enables me to be empathic with people. I’ve leaned into that. As long as I’m faithful to Him and trust Him, He’s going to equip me to do what I’m called to do.”

Contact Phil to learn more about the work he’s involved in, pushing4impact@yahoo.com