
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
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:
Chris Lewis - workplace chaplaincy and chair of the chaplaincy forum
Bob Wilson - prison chaplaincy
Sarah Crane - health chaplaincy
David Chawner - sport and leisure chaplaincy
Jacky Bone - community chaplaincy
Les Ebdon - higher education chaplaincy
Tim Fergusson - Ministries Team
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.
Recently, the Chaplaincy Forum put together an online gathering for chaplains from all sectors, whether full-time, part-time or volunteer. Two of the sessions are available to view: