If you right-click a lodestone compass, then the chunk where the lodestone is stored becomes loaded temporarily. (10 seconds) The lodestone also outputs a redstone signal.

Do Lodestones load chunks?

The Lodestone could work through loading the chunk that the lodestone is in. The Lodestone could be activated/deactivated with a redstone signal. The Lodestone could work like the chunk loader in the chicken chunks mod.

Is there a way to keep a chunk loaded in Minecraft?

The most common method of making sure that chunks outside of the Spawn Chunks are loaded, is using a combination of moving an entity (usually an Item) through a Nether portal, with a hopper in the chunk border between the spawn chunks or any other chunk that is always loaded.