Chris Elrod

Chris Elrod (born February 28, 1966) is a street pastor and advocate for the impoverished and incarcerated. He is also the Founder and Director of Impact! Ministries, a non-profit organization that helps people experiencing poverty and incarceration discover hope, belonging and self-sufficiency. As a pastor to folks living on the streets, Chris has spent the past decade working directly with the homeless, addicted, those coming out of prison and at-risk families across Florida to obtain affordable housing and the skills necessary to make a sustainable wage. As a result, he is quickly becoming recognized as a foremost advocate of those victimized by extreme poverty, gentrification and social injustice. Each year he works with organizations, civic leaders and churches across the United States to assess, develop and implement strategies for helping those in the community experiencing systemic poverty.
Background
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Chris started out as a Christian comedian traveling all across the United States and Canada appearing at churches, comedy clubs, college campuses, music festivals and on television. From 1990-2001, he averaged over 270 speaking engagements each year and shared the stage with many top Christian and country music artists of the day. He also spoke in hundreds of prisons throughout America as a platform artist for Operation Starting Line, a ministry outreach of Prison Fellowship.
After leaving the comedy world behind, Chris served in various staff roles at churches throughout Central Florida. In 2004 he and his wife founded a Bible study in an apartment complex, which quickly grew into a church plant for the Florida Baptist Convention. In 2014 Chris became the senior pastor of a church plant in the heart of the homeless and addicted population of Lakeland, Florida. Most nights the church was filled with folks sleeping on the sanctuary floor. During the day, people would stop by needing food, clothing, showers and medical assistance. It was through trying to meet these needs that Impact! Ministries was founded. In 2018, Chris transitioned into its full-time director.

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