Topic 9: Pursue Next Steps

Hi, I’m Haley, a Christian Leaders Institute presenter.

As you complete this course, you may be asking an important question: What should I do next?

There are several meaningful pathways you can pursue, depending on your calling, your season of life, and the type of chaplaincy service you hope to enter.

First, you may want to take more courses as you continue to discern whether self-paced online correspondence study fits your life well.

If that is where you are, we recommend beginning with the Wedding Officiant Skills Course. This is an important course for any future chaplain because chaplains are often called upon to serve people during major life moments. You may also want to take the Chaplain Foundations Course, which helps lay a strong biblical and practical foundation for chaplain ministry.

A second pathway is that you may feel called to pursue a volunteer or part-time chaplaincy position.

If that is you, you will need both training and ordination. At Christian Leaders Institute, we suggest pursuing the Licensed Chaplain ordination credential through the Christian Leaders Alliance.

This pathway has two main parts.

The first part is completing the foundational training. After finishing this course, the next recommended courses are the Wedding Officiant Skills Course, the Funeral Officiant Skills Course, and the Chaplain Foundations Course. Together, these courses help prepare you for the Licensed Chaplain ordination pathway.

As you follow the steps of that ordination program, you will also need to submit a reference recommendation, update your student profile, and participate in a local public laying on of hands. This public recognition helps establish you as an ordained Licensed Chaplain with the Christian Leaders Alliance. You will also be listed in the clergy directory.

Once recognized, you may also purchase your official public credential package, which can include an ID card, an ordination certificate, a letter of good standing as a Licensed Chaplain, and a chaplain shirt.

The second part of the chaplain pathway is specialization training.

Christian Leaders Institute offers many chaplain specializations, including Hospital, Hospice, Sports, Fire/EMS, Police, Corrections, Veterans, Nursing Home, Truck Stop, and Public School Chaplaincy, along with others.

When you complete a specialization, you can upgrade your credential so that you are recognized not only as a Licensed Chaplain, but as a Licensed Chaplain with a specialty. For example, you may become a Licensed Sports Chaplain or a Licensed Corrections Chaplain with the Christian Leaders Alliance.

There is also another pathway.

You may feel called to full-time or professional chaplaincy. If that is your direction, you may want to explore the Bachelor Degree program through the Leadership Excellence School. There you can pursue a low-cost degree in Chaplaincy, Divinity, or Christian Leadership.

From there, you may eventually pursue a Master of Divinity at an accredited seminary. You will also want to explore Clinical Pastoral Education, often called CPE, because that is commonly required in many professional chaplaincy settings.

As you consider your next steps, remember this: God often leads one faithful step at a time.

Keep learning. Keep discerning. Keep serving.

And trust that the Lord can use your training to prepare you for meaningful ministry in the lives of others.