Chaplain
A native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Ken Stallings graduated from Jonesboro High School in 1970 and earned a degree in general business from Arkansas State University in 1974, where he was also a Distinguished Military Graduate in ROTC. Desiring to pursue a call to Christian Ministry, Ken was given an educational deferment that allowed him to earn a Master of Divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO in 1978. Following his ordination in the Nazarene denomination in 1981, he was then eligible to be transferred to the Chaplain Corps, thereby becoming the first ASU ROTC graduate to be commissioned into the Chaplain Corps.
Ken was on the ministerial staff of College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, KS from 1977-1987. It was during those years he had the opportunity to serve as Chaplain with the 326th Support Group, 89th ARCOM, in Kansas City, KS from 1983-85. In 1987, he was called to be the Pastor of Forest Home Church of the Nazarene in Jonesboro. He just celebrated the completion of his 31st year as lead pastor of that church. Ken has held several district-level positions including District Advisory Board member, District Secretary, Board of Credentials, Finance Committee, and District Sunday School and Discipleship Chairman. He was twice elected to serve as a delegate to the General Assembly. At the regional level of the church, Ken has served since 2001 on the Board of Trustees for Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, OK. Since 2006, he has been on the executive committee of that board. In 2014, the University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree.
As a member of the Jonesboro community, Ken has been involved in leadership positions in the Ministerial Fellowship, Helping Neighbor Food Pantry, and University Heights Lions Club and on the board of directors for the Ecumenical Center housing complex. Ken and his wife, Linda, have been married for 41 years. They have two children and 4 grandchildren.
