I hear these six or seven words (the blog title) dozens of times each week. Pastors with twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years of pastoral ministry experience want to move into corporate chaplaincy. There is a real move in the heart of God today drawing thousands of men and women into the boardrooms of corporate America. They may have found themselves at an impasse with their church, so they look around on the internet, find us, and then explore the possibilities of being a corporate chaplain. Most have read about or know someone who is involved in corporate chaplaincy.Their interest is peaked as they look a little closer into all the incredible ways to build relationships and continue making a difference in the lives of people.
The number one ingredient in being a successful corporate chaplain is having numerous relationships with business owners who love you, know you, believe in you, and have witnessed the fruit of your ministry for years. They’ve been close enough to see you handle difficult personnel issues within the walls successfully, manage large teams, achieve successful results, navigate budgeting and P & L responsibilities, interface with the community and civic organizations by giving back, as well as being a solid leader of leaders, and leader of followers. You’re a pastor who has twenty-five years of experience, highly skilled and highly successful. Then there is the family, and the management of your home, marriage, finances, and children, and the skill and grace you’ve walked in as you served and loved your family. The employees within the companies are all dealing with “Life” issues every day like family, finances, children, stress and unimaginable pressure. They’ll see you how you raised your teens and tweens, and how you’ve loved your bride and draw strength and inspiration from your life experience. Having enough successful life experience, combined with marketplace and ministry experience is critical in the role of a corporate chaplain.
Being able to connect with people, really connect is paramount! “They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Connecting with these employees every time you walk through the company is critical. It’s those watershed moments that make the chaplain the valuable asset they are. You see, there are two times in life when people really need you… and that is when they need you, and when they need you. We must be there when others need us. I can’t think of a better way to “go into all the world” than this. If you are interested in being a corporate chaplain, or exploring what it would look like having a corporate chaplain in your company, go to the “contact” us tab and let us know.