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What is a Military Chaplain?
Chaplains are ordained clergy who work in institutional and organizational workplaces ministering to people that come to them in the workplace. The chaplain goes to the office, factory, or agency where people spend thirty to forty percent of their lives, at work. There they engage with the workers of that corporation or institution, building relationships with them, and minister to them addressing a variety of their needs. When issues of spirituality come up, they are able to speak spiritual truths into those men and women’s lives in the workplace. Essentially, chaplains are ministers in the workplace bearing the presence of God.Ìý
The chaplain goes to the workplace where people spend thirty to forty percent of their lives.
Types of Chaplaincy
In the industry of chaplaincy there are ten functional areas. Military is one of those ten functional areas. Within the functional areas of Chaplaincy, there are some eighty-seven other sub-functional areas that fall into each one of those ten functional areas of chaplaincy.
The Roles of a Military Chaplain
A military chaplain basically provides ministry to our military personnel, their families and the civilian employees of the military in a variety of different settings. There are chaplaincy programs in the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The Navy chaplaincy is a little different than the other two because they also provide ministry to the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marines. Chaplains are assigned to units like infantry battalions, aircraft squadrons, ships, and special forces serving U.S. military forces all over the world. A Christian military chaplain might have the opportunity to be the chapel pastor at an overseas chapel somewhere in the world like Keflavik, Iceland or Misawa, Japan or Stuttgart, Germany, Northwest Territory, Australia or other places around the world where they might be deployed.
chaplains are ministers in the workplace
How to Become a Military Chaplain
For those interested in becoming a military chaplain, YouTube videos (like these) can be helpful in providing information in terms of what the process looks like. The first step after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree, is earning a Master of Divinity degree at a university like Columbia Biblical Seminary that has at least a 72-hour program in Chaplaincy. From there, they will need to align with a denominational endorsing agent and be certified via that denomination. Next, they move on to ordination, and after ordination, they have to meet certain requirements, like time in ministry. They have to have two years of ministry experience in the local church and meet all qualifications. After meeting all requirements, the chaplain moves on to active duty.
