The Pilots for Christ Story

Love Flying, But Love The Lord More

The Lord led Reverend William "Bill" Starrs of Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, to organize Pilots For Christ International. It is the very nature of pilots to be more than dedicated to their love of flying. Sometimes they have a tendency to let it dominate their lives. This frequently leads to the Lord taking a back seat, and this was happening to Reverend Starrs. Realizing this, Bill began praying that the Lord would show him the way to re-channel this love of flying to a greater love of God. For the Lord said: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34 NRSV)

 

Put The Enthusiasm To Work

 

After much prayer, God led Bill in a different direction. The thought was, "Instead of trying to curtail this tremendous enthusiasm pilots have for flying, let's take the enthusiasm and use it in the Lord's work." It was a new concept! Airplanes had been used in missionary work for some time, but usually as only a means to reach areas without adequate transportation systems or to enable missionaries to cover more territory. So Bill designed a logo and a set of wings, mapped out a plan and prayed for guidance.

 

Prayer And Perseverance 

 

He then mailed out 4,000 invitations to pilots in the state of Pennsylvania to join "Pilots For Christ." The results of this invitation were very disappointing. So he took out an ad in a flying publication with national circulation, continued to pray, and things began to happen. "Pilots For Christ" was then born in January, 1985.

Bill prayed that God would send 100 members the first year. On December 31, 1985, he received a membership application in the mail from a new member in New York. That person was member number 200! The Lord had exactly doubled his prayer request! But the Lord had only just started. "Pilots For Christ" has continued to grow, and its present membership now includes people from all over the world. "Our Lord's Air force" is doing more and more of His work with no end in sight.

OUR MISSION

What We Do

Pilots for Christ is a group of volunteer pilots who serve the Lord Jesus Christ by sharing His love and Salvation mesage with those in need.  They devote their time, energy and aircraft in helping break down the transportation barriers for those in need.  Our mission coordinators match pilots with qualifying clients, flying them to and from medical treatment facilities, missionary appointments, and so much more. These flights are provided to our clients free of charge.  At Pilots for Christ, we believe that the cost of travel should never stand in the way of people receiving the help they need. 
Where We Serve
Pilots for Christ provides services throughout the United States and in some cases, internationally.We currently have 23 chapters residing in different states which provide services within certain radii of their state.  We also try to arrange "pony express" flights where clients are handed off from one chapter to another across the country. So, nearly anywhere you need to go, Pilots for Christ can help get you there. 
Missions Include But Are Not Limited To
Medical Flights

Flights for patients traveling to and from medical treatments that are not available locally. These can be one-time operations or ongoing routine treatments. We help patients with any physical medical condition, provided they are ambulatory, medically stable, non-contagious, non-psychiatric and able to enter and exit a small non-pressurized aircraft with little or no assistance. 

Compassion Flights

On a limited basis, we provide flights for persons traveling for compassionate reasons such as, but not limited to, travel to provide caregiving for an ill family member or friend, and travel to visit a seriously or terminally ill family member. 

Missionary and Pastor Engagements

When missionaries are on furlough and need to get to speaking engagements or pastors are leading revivals or special services, then we are there to help them get to there. The spread of the Gospel of Christ is of paramount importance to us.
Youth Camps/Flights

Some chapters of Pilots for Christ hold Youth Camps during the summer or fall to introduce students to aviation and to share the Gospel with them.  Some chapters also have Youth Flights periodically.  These are also intended to introduce students to aviation and maybe become an aviation missionary someday!

Bible and Gospel Message Distribution

Bibles and the Gospel of John Scripture portions, as well as tracts with the Gospel message are distributed to airports, airshows, and those famous Saturday morning breakfasts around the country in an effort to get God's Word out to as many persons as possible.
Presence at Major Airshows and Local Airport Events
Pilots for Christ Volunteers man booths at major airshows such as Air Venture at Oshkosh, Sun 'N Fun at Kissimee, Florida, and AOPA at various locations around the country to share materials, share the Gospel one on one with attendees, and give out materials for Salvation in Christ.  Other volunteers are involved at local airport events to set up booths or tents for the same purposes.

Disaster Relief/Recovery

In the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes and other disasters, Pilots for Christ can dispatch volunteer aircraft to the disaster scene to help relocate displaced residents. We can also transport small relief supplies in addition to transporting relief workers.  We also organize teams of recovery workers to help rebuild damaged churches and homes over a longer period of time. Pilots for Christ has been involved in the relief/recovery efforts of several major hurricanes and disasters inside the USA and the Bahamas.