OUR MISSION IS:

To train Christians for effective relational ministry of spiritual and

pastoral care through excellent continuing education, certification courses,

Clinical Pastoral Education, and Christian Higher Education.


CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION

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What is CPE

Video Description

Tuition and Fees

Our Unique Approach for Students and Institutions

Qualifications for Admittance

Application for CPE

Disclosure Statement

What is CPE?

The answer depends on your worldview. To us, CPE must be understood through a Biblical Christian worldview. CPE is a life changing experience.

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“Today was a difficult day,” said Pooh.

There was a pause. “Do you want to talk about it?” asked Piglet.

“No,” said Pooh after a bit. “No, I don’t think I do.” “That’s okay,” said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.

“What are you doing?” asked Pooh. “Nothing, really,” said Piglet.

“Only, I know what difficult days are like. I quite often don’t feel like talking about it on my difficult days either.”

“But goodness,” continued Piglet, “Difficult days are so much easier when you know you’ve got someone there for you. And I’ll always be here for you Pooh.”

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head, his difficult day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs… he thought that his best friend had never been more right.

Based on characters by A.A. Milne. This excerpt is from an anonymous, modern inspirational adaptation


Tuition and Fees

There are four units or courses of CPE. Each unit includes the fully online CPE standardized curriculum using the award winning Populi Learning Management System. Generally, to become Board Certified, four units of CPE are required. However, completing this program does not guarantee certification.

Learning outcomes are designed specifically for 34 competencies which include the 29 Common Qualifications required by BCCI/APC and the 5 Christian distinctives of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Each student receives significant Christian Life Coaching included the mentoring relationships provided by our wonderful CPE Supervisor Educator-Coach staff.

Tuition Cost (Per Unit - See Refund Policy Here) $1,300

Technology and Library Fee (Per Unit - Not Refundable) $375

Application fee - New Applicants Only $25


Total Cost Per Unit = $1,675

Our Unique Approach

For Students

All coursework including live classroom instruction and group discussion is 100% online. We will monitor your required clinical hours in a variety of settings as proctored by a local supervisor while coaching you toward improvement as a spiritual care provider.  

We encourage our students to gain clinical experience in a variety of settings while we monitor their weekly hours. You may choose to serve in any number of environments or combination of them. This can be as a volunteer or paid employee if you have a position.

For example, you may obtain your clinical hours by serving any combination of work performed in Hospital, Jail/Prison, Elder Care, Hospice, Crisis and Disaster Work, First Responders (Police, Fire), Military, Counseling and Compassion Care at your Church, Workplace Chaplaincy, and others. Talk to us and we will help you develop a plan for working the hours. Much of the requirement can be met by doing what you may already be doing in ministry now! 

Our impressive collaborations are intended to improve the learning experience and educational outcomes. Our teachers are highly experienced Chaplains and Pastors who also have significant real world business experience.

Your CPE journey through four units or courses includes personal one on one life coaching by one of our Certified Master Christian Life Coaches. Because our core value of teaching is "Life Coaching," you can expect to receive significant mentoring in self-awareness, spiritual disciplines, and making forward progress at becoming the person you dream to become - the person God created you tobe.

This means that we understand what it means to be truly customer focused. It is our strongest desire to give our students a deeply personal and enjoyable learning experience that will equip them for ministry like nothing else. Our courses will not be easy, but they will be life changing and rewarding.  

For Institutions

We offer unique services for institutions of higher learning, Churches, non-profit ministries, and occupational settings. We believe strongly in collaboration for the Kingdom work we share as Christians. We want to partner and collaborate with you.

COLLEGE - UNIVERSITY - SEMINARY: If you are interested in learning how Clinical Pastoral Education might be included in your degree program, please reach out to us for more information. We would love to partner with you to provide excellent education to your students that may qualify them for future Board Certification. To see our CPE Program book with sample memorandum of understanding, request it by email at cpe@christianchaplains.org.

CHURCH: We look forward to sharing how our training, continuing education, certification programs, and Doctoral Degree can help you "Equip the saints for the work of ministry - Ephesians 4:12" Partner with us!

NON-PROFIT (Ministry to the Incarcerated, Homeless, Victims of Abuse, Addiction Recovery, Disaster Response, Etc.): Perhaps we could collaborate with your ministry workers, staff, and volunteers for ongoing continuing education and certification in such things as Trauma Informed or Biblical Victim Care, Grief Care, Critical Incident Stress Management, and more.

VOCATIONAL (Jail, Prison, Police, Fire, Hospital, Nursing Home, Hospice, Etc.): We would love to help you recruit Chaplain interns and approve you as CPE Training Center or Clinical Site. This may allow highly qualified candidates to serve their 300 clinical hours per unit at your facility which can enhance the ministry you provide, while giving the intern an opportunity to earn their Clinical Pastoral Education.

Qualifications for Admittance

  • Applicants must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.
  • Applicants must be 21 or older.
  • Applicants must have a minimum of a high school diploma and both ministry and life experience. Our CPE may qualify you for credit toward a higher degree. 
  • Applicants must be comfortable learning about faith traditions that may be different from their own. Though our ministry holds a distinctly Christian worldview, we expect our students to learn about the worldview presented by other religions and be respectful of them.
  • Applicants must balance the craft of Chaplaincy within the expectation that they will function as a Chaplain in a Biblical Christian manner which shall be respectful of all people and beliefs.  
  • Applicants must be willing and able to minister to persons in a variety of emotional states. Chaplaincy is not door to door contact evangelism. But we do pray for God to open doors to the Gospel. 
  • Applicants must be coachable, willing to learn from their supervisors and fellow students.
  • Applicants must be coachable and interested in learning, transformation, spiritual disciplines, and making steady progress. If you are just looking for a certification and not life change, this CPE program is not for you. 
  • Applicants must be willing to work with people of different views and values without proselytizing. However, we learn to respond with the Gospel when the client invites us to do so. 
  • Applicants will not force the Gospel in secular settings uninvited. However, they have the right to hold to their sincerely held beliefs without having others, including employers, force their beliefs or worldview upon them. 
  • Applicants must have their own transportation to get to and from their various sites where they may earn clinical hours.
  • Applicants must be able to identify appropriate places where they may serve as an intern. Though we will assist with this, we do not guarantee placement.
  • Applicants must always adhere to the policies and procedures of any site or place of ministry in which they serve. 

BEGIN YOUR APPLICATION HERE

Disclosure Statement

  • Completing a course or courses or any of the Certificate Programs we offer does not guarantee employment or certification as a Board-Certified Chaplain. Additional requirements are up to the certifying organization and an employer's HR requirements.
  • We are committed to teaching to common qualifications and competencies established by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. (BCCI) 
  • We collaborate with the National Association of Evangelicals Chaplain Commission Board Certification (EBCC). We teach to the five additional competencies required of an Evangelical Biblical Christian to be Board Certified by them. Our campus teaches through an unapologetically Biblical Evangelical Protestant Christian worldview. Our goal is to be the CPE training option best suited to Biblical, Evangelical Christians. 
  • The five additional competencies for Evangelical Chaplains includes: 1) EPC1 Express how your evangelical values guide you in providing pastoral care, 2) EPC2 Provide specific biblical references that guide your clinical chaplain care, 3) EPC3 Discuss how you offer biblical guidance for those seeking answers and understanding, 4) EPC4 Describe your involvement in leading biblically based public worship, and 5) EPC5 Express how you incorporate the practice of Sabbath into your schedule.
  • Being accepted as a student does not guarantee you will pass CPE. Failure may require you to repeat a course to proceed forward on the journey. A student's ability to proceed to the next level of CPE, e.g., 2, 3, or 4, is dependent on the recommendation of their CPE Supervisor - Instructor. A positive recommendation is required for enrollment in all subsequent CPE courses. This will depend entirely on your progress, especially in self-awareness.
  • In each CPE Unit, 50% of the grade will come from coursework and 50% from the final evaluation prepared by your CPE Supervisor Educator-Coach. The final evaluation is by far the most important factor in your moving forward in the next unit of CPE.
  • We expect our students to engage in the hard work of self-study, self-awareness, and life transformation. Failure to embrace the process of the Action-Reflection method of learning can result in failing the course. This is about the personal transformation required to be an excellent spiritual care provider.
  • We highly recommend board certifying agencies including ECC (Evangelical Chaplain Commission) ACCC (Association of Certified Christian Chaplains). Each organization has its own requirements and unique processes. Each one has advantages and disadvantages in vocational opportunities. It is up to the student to determine the best option for their own needs. In addition, our graduates may also consider SCC (Spiritual Care Association) and NAVAC (National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains). 
  • Successful students will receive certificates of completion for CPE. This does not guarantee that any Board Certifying agency will approve your Board Certification.
  • Students are accountable to the learning outcomes and expectations established by the program as taught by The Chaplains Academy, the educational arm of Christian Chaplains & Coaching, which include the BCCI competencies plus the Evangelical Christian competencies.
  • Learning goals, anticipated outcomes, and competencies for CPE 1, 2, 3, and 4 provide scaffolding for student academic growth. Each subsequent course builds on the previous learning experience. Each student must demonstrate a sincere and conscientious effort to achieve these goals, outcomes, and competencies. 
  • A student's degree of sincere and conscientious efforts will be evaluated and assessed by their CPE peers, internship site coordinator, CPE Supervisory Candidate, and CPE Supervisor Educator-Coach.