The Author

Eugene B. (Chip) Aydelott

M.DIV.

Eugene “Chip” Aydelott grew up on an alfalfa and sunflower farm in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, a small town in the eastern part of the state. Chip’s dad was a farmer; previously, he was in the US Air Force and served in Vietnam. He was a crew chief on B-52 and B-58 bomber aircraft. For many years, he worked with the Strategic Air Command at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Chip’s mother was a lifelong educator who completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She taught numerous grades in elementary school and ended her career as a kindergarten teacher.

One day when he was in elementary school at Edwards AFB, Chip’s worst nightmare came true. His teacher was absent that day, and he realized that his mother was the substitute teacher!

During high school, Chip became a Christian at the United Methodist Church in Fort Sumner. After graduating from high school, he attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology, with an emphasis on human physiology. While in college, he served as the Youth Pastor at University Methodist Church. He also worked in the intensive care unit at a hospital for two years.

Following graduation from NMSU, Chip wanted to explore missionary work but did not feel ready to become a missionary. He joined the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. For two and a half years, he specialized in aquaculture science fish farming. He also focused on developmental work, recommending projects related to bridge building and school building and then evaluating the completed projects.

While in Costa Rica, Chip felt God calling him into the ministry. A missionary he knew there recommended that he attend Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Chip enrolled at Asbury and completed his M.Div. degree. Then he accepted an assignment with the Wesleyan Church to pastor a small neighborhood church in Denver, Colorado, where he remained for twenty years.

He has two adult children. His son, Rob, served in the US Marine Corps and works in IT. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Taylor, who is an intellectual property attorney. Taylor considers Chip to be her dad, and he considers her to be his daughter. Chip’s daughter, Alexis, married in 2024 and works in people partnering. Her husband, Aaron, works in a geotechnical laboratory. Chip is extremely proud of his children and their spouses; they are all successful in their respective professional fields.

To supplement his income while he was a pastor, Chip opened a medical supply store in 2006, which he still owns and manages today.

In his spare time, Chip enjoys astrophotography, playing his violin, riding motorcycles, flying radio-controlled airplanes, fly fishing, and, of course, playing pickleball.