Advantages to Your Own Chaplaincy
Ministry
We’ve discovered many advantages to local
chaplaincy since our inception in 2004. Here are several of them. The
benefit we’re
most excited about is the wonderful opportunity we have to share Christ
with those who don’t have a church home through
the funeral side of our ministry. Congregations have always tried to
find ways to reach those who are outside our walls.
The most effective way we have found, both in terms of
time and financial resources, is officiating at funerals. It is a privilege
to be the first pastor to ever visit the bereaved family in their home,
the first pastor to ever pray with them, and the first pastor to ever
tell them about Jesus. In addition, we get to share Christ with their
extended family and friends.
Currently, we estimate that we are speaking to an average
of 200 pre-Christians a month! Most churches would be ecstatic to have
that opportunity. Yet consider how much it would cost in terms of time
and financial resources to accomplish that. With local chaplaincy, our
time is greatly reduced since funeral directors provide us with the contact
information. Plus, the family pays us to tell them about Jesus!
Regarding assisted living facilities, a wonderful local
chaplaincy advantage is that we develop meaningful relationships with
residents and staff alike. In a real sense, a local chaplain becomes
the pastor for many of these folks, both residents who can no longer
attend worship and staff members who often have to work on the weekends.
In addition to caring for the grieving and for senior
citizens, Autumn Life also has a heart for pastors and their families.
We know that when it comes time to leave the church they have been serving,
pastors like to stay in a community that they have come to know and love.
Autumn Life makes it possible to do so by consulting with pastors to
help them have their own chaplaincy business.
We also know that many pastors who are bi-vocational
or semi-retired need additional income, but would like to still be involved
in ministry. With God’s blessing and diligence on their part, Autumn
Life can help to make that a reality without incurring the expense of
additional schooling that’s often needed for institutional chaplaincy.
Finally, we realize that many pastors have limited financial
resources. That’s another reason why local chaplaincy is a great
business opportunity. There are very low start-up and operating costs
and your business can easily be administered out of a home office. In
addition, our consulting fees to help pastors get started are not only
affordable, they save many hours and dollars in getting your business
operational as soon as possible.
