Membership & Ordination Requirements

Please be sure to watch the video by clicking the image to the right. All of our members are ordained chaplains and have legal recognition outside the church as members of the Clergy. Chaplains provide pastoral services in secular settings but are not Pastors/Elders in the church sense. Requirements for ordination are described below. Credentialing beyond "Basic Ordained Chaplain" has additional requirements, education, and expectations as described. 


Membership and annual dues must be updated and paid annually to maintain your Ordained status. Ordination is not perpetual. Continued ordination is at the discretion of our Ordaining Council as approved annually by our Board of Directors.  


We teach accredited Clinical Pastoral Education and collaborate with a growing number of Seminaries to offer Masters Degrees. Many of our advanced Chaplains are serving in vocational positions such as VA Hospitals or Federal Prisons. See our CPE section and Accredited Masters Degrees on the website.


ordained chaplain

protestant christian

Our Chaplains are ordained clergy, a religious ministry professional. To qualify you must meet each of the following requirements. For vocational endorsement you must meet education and credential requirements:

  • Must be a member in good standing of an Evangelical Biblical Protestant Christian Church. Your church must be doctrinally conservative, committed to scripture, and in agreement with our statement of faith. 
  • If your church is part of a denomination, the stated beliefs of the denomination must be in agreement with our Statement of Faith. 
  • Must be recommended by your pastor.
  • Must be recommended by a personal reference who has known you at least 3 years.
  • Must submit to a background check.
  • Must agree completely with our Statement of Faith.
  • Must agree with our Vision and Mission statements.
  • Must complete “The Basics of Chaplaincy” at The Chaplains Academy
  • Must complete "Christian Counseling for Grief" at The Chaplains Academy.
  • Must pass an interview with our Executive Director.
  • Must sign and adhere to our Code of Conduct and Ethics.
  • Must have a high school diploma or higher.
  • Must obtain 25 hours of continuing education annually.
  • Every year you will complete a short form to verify your CE, personal information, and adherence to Code of Conduct. 


NOTE: If you are one of our Ordained Chaplains and wish to serve as Clergy with Kairos, an additional requirement is to complete the course "Christian Ministry to the Incarcerated." This is a certification course requested by Kairos for our chaplains if they wish to serve as Clergy. 


Violation of the Code of Conduct can result in disciplinary action including termination of your credential.