Chaplaincy 

Chaplaincy presents great opportunities to minister and bring God’s love to a wide variety of people, whether they have a faith or not. Chaplains take the good news of Jesus outside the church’s walls to embody it in the public arena. Chaplaincy is sometimes called ‘sector ministry’ because it focusses on one sector of society. 
 
We encourage every minister to look for opportunities to offer chaplaincy in their community. It can be to a neighbourhood police station, an out-of-town retail park, the local football club, or a bus company's depot, to give just a few examples. And chaplaincy is not exclusively a role for ministers. Though some public sectors require chaplains to be accredited or recognised by their denomination, many places welcome the chaplaincy provided by volunteers from their local church.
 
While much chaplaincy is informally arranged, some sectors have greater organisation which is usually overseen in partnership with other denominations. Many of the ministers who serve in these sectors do so full-time for a number of days each week. You can follow the links below to find out about some of the different types of chaplaincy.
 
        Healthcare chaplaincy
 
        Education chaplaincy
 
        Prison chaplaincy
 
        Workplace chaplaincy
 
        Military chaplaincy  
 
The requirements for becoming a chaplain vary from sector to sector. If you wish to be a military chaplain, you must be a fully accredited Baptist minister. If you want to work as a prison chaplain, you will need to be recognised or accredited as a Baptist minister first and have at least a diploma in theology. Requirements for health and higher education chaplaincy are typically similar to that for prison chaplaincy, but each  NHS trust, hospice charity, or University may have its own specific requirements. For workplace and community chaplaincy, the expectations may be lower, but this depends on the context and the appointing body.   

To better understand how chaplaincy sits within our understanding of ministry, please read A Theology of Chaplaincy Ministry.

We also have a Chaplaincy Forum made up of six or seven chaplains from a variety of sectors together with a member of the Baptists Together Ministries Team. The forum works to encourage, support and promote chaplaincy. They are at present:

Sarah Crane - health chaplaincy and chair of the Chaplaincy Forum
Bob Wilson - prison chaplaincy
David Chawner - sport and leisure chaplaincy
Jacky Bone - community chaplaincy 
Ashley Lovett - higher education chaplaincy
Tim Fergusson - Ministries Team 
Hilary Prichard - health chaplaincy
Gale Richards - higher education chaplaincy
Helen Semoh - mental health chaplaincy
We also have a representative for military chaplaincy. 

 If  you would like to know more about the forum or get in touch with any of the above, please contact the Ministries Team. 

Six of the sessions from 2022,  2023 and 2024's online Day for Baptist Chaplains are available to view: 

• An interview (2022) with Lynn Green and a webinar on 'Witnessing to Christ as chaplains' (The webinar starts at 37:30)
• A keynote address (2022) by Rosa Hunt on 'Desire and Disorientation' and an interview and music from Gareth Davies-Jones (Rosa's address starts at 33:45)
• A keynote address (2023) by Mark Newitt, Free Churches Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy, on 'Ritual and Liturgy in Everyday Encounters'.
• A panel of chaplains (2023) discussing 'Being Baptist in the Public Sphere'. 
• A keynote address (2024) by Glen Marshall and a discussion between him and Liz Shercliff on reimagining a Baptist theology of chaplaincy.
• A presentation (2024) by Jane Day, Helen Cameron and Sarah Crane on Project Violet and the intersection of women in ministry and in chaplaincy.