Chaplaincy Concentration

Chaplaincy is a highly qualified and dynamic expression of pastoral ministry beyond the borders of a traditional church setting. It is based on the Bible and supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “Adventist chaplains extend the outreach of the church as a valid and viable expression of ministry for the church.” (GC Working Policy, Section FA 05

As the Lord “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps 147:3), He calls for chaplains to “be imitators of God” (Eph 5:1) in this age and time.

A PROFESSIONAL ADVENTIST CHAPLAIN MUST:

Answer God’s special call for service in a place where a regular pastor has no access;
Complete an MDiv degree or its equivalency;.
Have an advanced training according to the chaplaincy specialty;
Have pastoral experience verified by current credentials;
Be ecclesiastically endorsed by Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries (ACM).

OVERVIEW

Program type: Masters Degree
Program length: 81 credits
Program entry: August, January, or May
Application deadline: Admission year-round

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Be a Chaplain (health care, military, prison, police, fire, community, corporate, campus, etc.)
Be a Pastor in a local congregation
Teach Bible at the academy or college level
Step directly into a Doctoral program (PhD/ThD, DMin, DMiss)

MDIV WITH A CHAPLAINCY CONCENTRATION

Chaplaincy Concentration of the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program provides the basic training and prepares pastors for various chaplaincy ministries. The Concentration includes the following courses:

PATH507 Introduction to Chaplaincy (2 credits)
PATH516 Death and Grief in Contemporary Society (2 credits)
PATH549 Philosophy and Ethics in Chaplaincy (3 credits)
PATH643 Trauma and Advanced Crisis Intervention (2 credits)
PATH557 Practicum in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) (3 credits)

The MDiv office can assist students who took chaplaincy courses on their undergraduate level and/or successfully completed at least two units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) with a substitution of PATH 507 Introduction to Chaplaincy course for another more advanced and related course in the program.

MDIV ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Transcripts of post-secondary coursework with at least 2.5 GPA.
Three Recommendations: church board, religion department (or a major professor) and a general recommendation
Statement of Purpose reflecting your family and religious development, sense of calling to ministry, experience in church work, and future goals in relation with the MDiv program.
Spouse's Statement: If applicant is married.
English language proficiency test scores when first language is not English.
Background Screening

DMIN WITH A CHAPLAINCY CONCENTRATION

The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Chaplaincy concentration prepares participants for excellence in health care and other chaplaincy fields. The program is delivered in the cohort model, wherein participants proceed through the sequence of courses together. Study and learning are year-round, with pre-intensive, during-intensive, and post-intensive activities and experiences.
The structure of the DMin program with its module descriptions and their deliverance, a dissertation writing or an ACPE portfolio developments, and much more can be found here.

Please see the Andrews University Bulletin for more information about the chaplaincy concentration and about other Seminary and Andrews University programs and policies.

More information is also available online at www.andrews.edu/grad

Chaplaincy Resources

Endorsement requirements: Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, North American Division

Board certification: Adventist Chaplaincy Institute or Association of Professional Chaplains

Continuous training: Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, General Conference

CPE training: Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE)

Ethics for chaplains: Common Code of Ethics for chaplains

Chaplaincy handbook: Adventist Chaplaincy Institute Handbook

CHAPLAINCY INQUIRIES

Phone: 269-471-3244 (chaplaincy inquiries); Email: Chaplaincy@andrews.edu
269-471-3984 (MDiv inquiries); Email: mdiv@andrews.edu; Web: www.andrews.edu/sem/mdiv/
269-471-3544 (DMin inquiries); Email: dmin@andrews.edu ; Web: www.andrews.edu/sem/dmin/

As the Lord “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps 147:3), He calls for chaplains to “be imitators of God” (Eph 5:1) in this age and time.

GOD’S SPECIAL CALL – CHOOSE CHAPLAINCY