Hospice of Southern Kentucky is a non-profit business that serves about 90 clients in a nine-county Kentucky area, regardless of their religious beliefs. It has no religious affiliation.
“Respectfully I will listen to them, but I will still get to share my belief and to offer prayer. Even though I’ve come across already several families that are not religiously affiliated with anyone, nobody has turned down prayer,” he said. “When I pray, I pray in the name of Jesus and I’m thankful (for) what I call this captive audience, that they get to hear about the goodness of God.
“My job is not necessarily to try to make them Southern Baptist. My job is to see to it that they understand what the Word of God says and that the promises of heaven can be for them and their family as well, if in fact they put their trust in the Lord.”
Colovos has continued to minister to the Ratliff family, contacting them on each anniversary of the father’s and husband’s death.
“I’m still extremely close to that family. Every January 17th since then, I reach out to the family. They are just very, very special people to me and I’m thankful to say that they’re doing well,” Colovos said. “The kids are grown and married with families of their own now. And they’re both in church, love the Lord.”
Colovos considers the 1992 event the springboard to his chaplaincy.
“There’s been a lot of situations since then, other traumatic events that people have gone through,” he said. “I’ve buried children before. There’s been homicides, suicide and tragedies. I just have a heart and a desire to be with people in these most difficult times.”
This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.
