Dave Chilcoat, former Young Life staff, died Aug. 30, 2006, after battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gerhig’s disease) for nearly three years. Dave Chilcoat loved Jesus and was passionate about people. Still today, his legacy lives on and continues to change lives, which is exactly what he had hoped for.
Beth, his wife of 37 years, proudly tells stories of her husband’s life, especially those relating to Young Life. After meeting in Pittsburgh at a Young Life leadership event, Beth and Dave began dating.
Lover of laughs and the Lord
“It was his car that drew me to him,” she said, jokingly. And who wouldn’t be drawn to a man driving a ’57 black hearse? Beth proudly recalls the memories from those times. “We had a lot of fun with that car,” she said. “Once, we were having Campaigners before school and the kids pulled the drapes across the back windows and carried a kid in who was stiff as a board.” Dave was known for having fun, but took his calling to ministry very seriously.
Credited with pioneering Young Life in what is now the Buckeye Region in Ohio, Dave came on Young Life staff in 1968. After marrying in 1969, the couple moved to the Shartooth Valley. “We were young and foolish,” Beth said.
And obedient. Acting on God’s call in their lives, Dave and Beth moved with several other families under Reid Carpenter’s direction to start Young Life in Ohio. Shortly after moving into town, the Chilcoats had two teenagers from club living in their three-room home. Life was comfortably crowded, and Dave wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Persevering to pursue kids
In 1970, with their first-born son, Jeff, just eight days old, Dave and Beth moved to Columbus. And although he wasn’t allowed on the high school campus, Dave found a way to meet and get to know kids. Before the Chilcoats had even found a new home in Columbus, Dave had signed up an entire busload of kids to go to Young Life camp. “And that was the start of amazing things in Columbus,” Beth said. “It was so obviously God’s hand; almost 40 years later it still amazes me.”
Tom Hammon, a longtime friend and ministry colleague of Dave’s, said that Dave was instrumental in starting the Young Life work in Columbus. “Dave was a great leader,” he said. “He was a take-charge kind of a guy. He led a great area, and as a dad and a husband he led a great family. He started Young Life in Columbus with little support. He trusted God and worked hard.”
Dave spent 11 years on Young Life staff, during which he impacted countless kids. Many kids grew up and went on Young Life staff themselves; eight of those who were in the Chilcoats’ first Young Life club are full-time pastors serving in different churches around the country.
After he left Young Life staff, Dave ran several businesses, then he entered law school, eventually becoming a partner at a law firm for more than 20 years. He stayed connected to Young Life, serving on local, regional and divisional committees.
“He never left the ministry of Young Life,” Tom said. “He kept active in his faith and ministry. His profession as an attorney was a platform to share Christ.”
Everywhere that Dave went he cast vision for Young Life and shared with others his heart for Christ and teenagers. Not surprisingly, his passion rubbed off on those living under his roof — his children. All four of the Chilcoats’ children developed hearts tender to Young Life. Jenny, their daughter, was on staff at one time, and now is involved in her local area; Jeff, their oldest, serves on committee; Andrew, the youngest, is a volunteer leader in college; and Mike, a man after his father’s heart, is currently the metro director of Young Life in Columbus.
“I grew up watching my dad do Young Life; I got to see his desire to get kids excited about the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Mike said. “There’s such a rich tradition of Young Life here, it’s a privilege to be serving in the same place as my dad.” Though bittersweet, one of the joys over this past summer was that Dave knew Mike was going to be following in his foot steps.
A lasting legacy
According to Rob Crocker, the Buckeye regional director, there’s no better man to fill those big shoes. “There’s no one quite like Dave Chilcoat, but appointing Mike as metro director was a very natural move. Dave was a relational magnet with an incredible sense of humor. In his presence, everyone felt loved and cared for.”
Dave never missed an opportunity to make a difference for Christ. And so, even in suffering, Dave knew what he had to do. After being diagnosed with ALS in October of 2003, Dave and Beth started journaling their experience, not only regarding the disease but about the joys of God’s faithfulness that can be found even in the darkest situations.
“My dad’s sole passion in life was being God’s man,” Mike said. “It wasn’t just about words either, his actions always backed up his heart convictions. At all costs, he wanted to glorify Christ. And he did.”