From Diapers to Death Row

Chaplain J. Edward Sellers was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1949. He graduated from Garinger High with honors. In 1972, Chap. Sellers got his Bachelor of Arts in Bible with a minor in Education from Columbia Bible College (Columbia International University), where he served as a student association vice president and as a yearbook editor. In 1987, he received a Master of Divinity Degree with a major in Cross-Cultural Ministry and a minor in Counseling from Columbia International University.

Chaplain Sellers has served with Youth for Christ for over 25 years, working with high-risk kids and families and with long-term juvenile units in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Iowa, with an emphasis in chaplaincy services.

During his ministry, he was known for trying new things, like fishing tournaments, all-night basketball tournaments (Midnight Madness), off-campus day camps, and overnight weekend camps, and he set up one of the first experimental juvenile halfway houses in the country for juvenile males coming out of long-term training schools in North and South Carolina. This program was built around apprentice jobs with faith-based employers.

Working with the recreation departments of state training schools in North and South Carolina, Chap. Sellers began a yearly all-star basketball game followed by an awards banquet that included an adult Christian athlete sharing his testimony. This yearly game ran for over 20 years straight without a break and was sponsored by Kiwanis.

Chap. Sellers identifies with the following quote by Robert Kennedy: “Some people see things as they are and ask, why? I dream things that never were and ask, why not?”

Chaplain Sellers states, “Everything that the Lord has enabled me to do has been mission impossible, but it has all been made possible by the grace and mercy of God. To Him be the glory, great things He has done!”