Our Founders
Our Founding
The concept of Guardian Chaplains germinated independently but became a reality when two friends had breakfast together. During the conversation that morning, they discovered they both had a similar passion for ministering to our guardians in the emergency services community.
Todd Yates, while serving as a volunteer firefighter, observed that the personal needs of First Responders were largely unmet, so he was determined to do something about it. In 2020, he formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit but had yet to implement an operational program.
Similarly, while serving as a volunteer police chaplain, SIG Swanstrom had become frustrated when several of his fellow retired police officer friends who were mature Christians, were prevented from becoming police chaplains because they lacked ordination. So, SIG had been exploring other ordination mechanisms.
At that God-ordained breakfast, the two decided to work together to solve these problems. However, since both had full-time jobs, it was evident that implementation would require the help of many volunteers, a concept that has become the organization's backbone. As others were consulted and recruited to help, the vision of Guardian Chaplains expanded to serve all community guardians.
Today, while Todd Yates, SIG Swanstrom, and Jim Stegman represent the official Board of Directors, it is the Advisory Council and Senior Chaplain volunteers who are tapped to help guide the development of the Guardian Chaplains organization.
Todd Yates, PhD, DD
President, Guardian Ministry
As the Chief Technology Officer of a multimillion-dollar education company that serves universities and schools, Todd has unusual experience and understanding of online education. As the co-founder of Guardian Chaplains, he applies this professional experience to his volunteer role as the chief architect of our online presence and the delivery of educational content.
Todd is uniquely suited for this role in yet other ways, as well. One of his three PhD degrees is in Religious Studies, so as a Bible-knowledge-equipped Christian, he helps screen our education content to make sure it is sound from a biblical perspective. And, he is further enriched by his past experience on the law enforcement side of the U.S. Coast Guard, in addition to his decade of service as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. As a result, Todd understands the need for Christian chaplains who are equipped to serve in all the various professions represented in the emergency services field.
SIG SWANSTROM, BA/BS in Criminology
Provost & Senior Chaplain
In addition to being the author of the book series “Prepared, Ready to Roll,” SIG has extensive personal experience in disaster and emergency services. For example, he was first on the scene at a crash of a commercial airliner in a densely populated area, and as a police officer in the Los Angeles area, he confronted street violence, was a SWAT Team operator, and was a detective assigned crimes-of-violence cases. During those years as a police officer, SIG’s partner was murdered by a drug cartel assassin.
After retiring from law enforcement, SIG moved to Guatemala to support the people during that nation’s bloody civil war. Later, he moved to Texas where, until recently, he served as a volunteer firefighter. Currently, he is serving as a police and fire chaplain. SIG’s belief is that in the future, the most significant opportunities to serve others will be afforded to those who are trained as Christian chaplains.
During all these years and experiences, SIG never had the benefit of a chaplain to help him as he helped others. SIG and co-founder, Todd Yates, started Guardian Chaplains to change that.
James Stegman, DMin, MDiv, Ret. Chap.
Senior Board Member
Chaplain Stegman has the heart of a pastor. He graduated from Western Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. But for the past 41 years, Jim has been the senior pastor at four churches.
During most of these years, Jim also served as a volunteer police and fire chaplain in the communities where he lived. To help his fellow chaplains and their agencies, he wrote a police chaplaincy manual which was later officially adopted by the State of Washington. This manual was subsequently published and distributed by the State of Washington to all law enforcement agencies in that State.
Jim is also the founder of the nonprofit association for chaplains who serve Washington’s law enforcement agencies. Having now retired from his official pastoral roles, Jim is expanding his ministerial reach by helping grow Guardian Chaplains.
Email: Info@GuardianChaplains.org
