What is Chaplaincy?

Chaplaincy is an expression of ministry that places highly trained, passionate, caring individuals inside various settings, which include the marketplace, hospitals, corporations, prisons, public safety agencies, military services, and so much more.  

As such, chaplaincy is an extension of the local church reaching into our diverse and multicultural society providing spiritual care to people.  Chaplains perform the roles of mentor, teacher, counselor, evangelist, pastor, and administrator as they represent the church and the denomination from "inside" the using agency.

A Chaplain can be a priest, pastor, ordained deacon or other member of the clergy SERVING a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons: such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties. Lay Chaplains (non-clergy) are also found in other settings such as schools, workplaces, car clubs, recovery meetings,etc . 

In recent years many non-ordained persons (lay persons) have received professional training in chaplaincy and are now appointed as chaplains in schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and elsewhere to work alongside of, instead of becoming ordained chaplains.