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Types of Chaplaincy Programs
There are ten functional areas of chaplaincy. They include healthcare chaplaincy, corporate chaplaincy, sports chaplaincy, and so forth. Each of these functional areas of chaplaincy employ chaplains who are hired by the institution to come in and provide ministry to the workforce of the organization.
The chaplain goes to that workplace and is the minister-in-resident in that institution.
What a Healthcare Chaplain Does
Most of the time when we say healthcare chaplaincy, people automatically think of the chaplains taking care of the sick person in one of the rooms in a hospital, which is true. They do that, but they also attend to the needs of the medical personnel (nurses, lab techs, and doctors) and administrative staff (medical directors and managers, HR personnel and clerical staff). The chaplain goes to that workplace as the minister-in-resident in that institution. They take care of a variety of different needs and trauma situations that arise in a modern medical center. They also provide religious ministry to the men and women to the whole institution (patients and medical employees) where the workforce spends 30–40% of their lives, at work. Most pastors do not have the opportunity or the credentials to get inside of the institutions whereas a chaplain basically has unfettered accessibility to the entire clinical settings.
It is of tremendous value to the community. When a chaplain comes into the room to minister, it’s as if God has shown up. Chaplains are the bearers of the presence of God, and it makes a tremendous impact on the individual who is receiving that visit.
Chaplains are the bearers of the presence of God, and it makes a tremendous impact on the individual who is receiving that visit.
How to Become a Healthcare Chaplain
Chaplains do not have to become a doctor. The basic criterion is that they must have a Master of Divinity or a Master of Arts degree. CBS offer’s both of those programs at CIU. Our programs in chaplaincy concentrate on building upon a thirty-nine-competency skillset for people that want to focus on Healthcare Chaplaincy. One of the most important aspects of our clinical training is the requirement to take a course in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). In CPE, Chaplaincy students build skillsets of ministering to people in crisis. This specific CPE requirement helps them to move toward board certification as a board-certified chaplain.
The CBS chaplaincy program trains, equips, and prepares chaplaincy students for that kind of ministry. We walk them through different phases, and, as they master those phases, we shift them to the next phase of building new skills and abilities. All along the way, we are building knowledge, skill, and ability so that they can function and care for the peoples’ specific needs and, in some cases, in broad general terms.
