Lifeline Chaplaincy’s inspiration and roots go back to the 1960s. Marie Banister was a heart patient and stroke survivor and sensed a calling to be a spiritual encourager to patients in Houston’s Texas Medical Center. She volunteered for decades, tending to primarily focus on UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, as patients and families came from all over the world and, in many cases, endured extended stays away from home. Marie was a refreshing source of hope and encouragement to all the individuals and families she visited.
Over time, Marie asked the leadership of her home congregation (Southwest Central Church of Christ) to take up the mantle of securing a full-time chaplain to represent Churches of Christ in the Texas Medical Center. In 1983 they held a formative meeting, which launched an Executive Board to seek support and search for a chaplain. Steve Sandifer and Lifeline’s first Chairman Dr. Lynn Mitchell asked for an audience of churches and individuals to become the genesis for what eventually became Lifeline Chaplaincy.