On the Frontline

Overview

Over the last two years Chaplaincy Australia has consistently delivered effective frontline Chaplaincy support across the country. We are a sought out, reliable & responsive network, with a strong and growing reputation.

We currently have over 580 Chaplains and Associates and over 950 members in the network. During this conference period we have grown by 17%, exceeding all of our expectations.

• We have an incredible team working together delivering state-based Chaplaincy

• We continue to receive multiple requests and opportunities across 27 sectors

• We have growing connections and partnerships with Local Churches

• We have over 120 Supervisors and Mentors offering support

• We have 1800Chaplain functioning every day, supporting our whole community

Chaplaincy has become part of the DNA of our movement. During the last 24 months, our chaplains have again proven their readiness to respond to everyday crisis and times of national emergency. Whether it has been assisting with grief, loss and trauma or supporting people in the midst of disaster, our chaplains have stepped up and made a difference. Our chaplains minister across 26 Sectors Australian Society and it is true to say that wherever there is a group of people, there is an opportunity for a Chaplain to make a difference.

Our Chaplaincy Australia team is ready and enthusiastic to continue to be one of the principal providers of highly skilled, thoroughly trained and passionate chaplains across Australia.

Leadership and structure

Pastor Ralph Estherby is the National Director/CEO of Chaplaincy Australia, and he reports to the National Board.

Whilst a ‘national entity’ the ministry of Chaplaincy happens at the ‘grass roots’ level in each of the States. Effective state teams are working with their State Executives, they ‘tailor’ their response to meet the needs of the State they serve.

The National Board is chaired by Andrew Coghlan who works with the other members, Bronwyn Bonnell, John Spinella, Marcella Hernandez and Katie Diou. We also thank Sonny Yee & Pastor Kerrie Frizzell who have served during this period.

We have an excellent team of State Directors and Department Leaders including:

New South Wales/ACT Deb Kuhna

Queensland/NT Angie Herranz

South Australia Jeff Marshall

Tasmania Gus Yearsley

Victoria Mark Penny

Western Australia Jody Sisley

Supervision & Mentoring Susan Marcuccio

1800Chaplain Michelle Fife

We want to acknowledge the incredible work that is being done by this great team and the many volunteers who support them.

We would also like to honour Glenise Dedrick the previous VIC State Director who served during this conference period.Glenise is a hero and leaves a lasting legacy in VIC and beyond!

Stats and facts

Training, Equipping, & Resources

• Training continues to be our most effective method of Discovering, Developing and Deploying new Chaplains. Our ongoing partnership with Alphacrucis University College continues to be a great strength. The partnership of CA and AC has the potential to offer a standard of training in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care which we believe is second to none. We are looking forward to a great year of growth in our AC training.

• One of the major growth areas for CA continues to be in the area of ongoing Professional Development. We have had opportunities to work directly with Churches as they have sought to upskill their teams. We have worked with Supervisors and Mentors to ensure that they are fully equipped for the task and we have continued to work with our Chaplains – making certain that they are effective and up to date with the latest thinking and understandings.

• We continue to offer training in Mental Health First Aid, Domestic Violence, Grief and Loss, Trauma, Navigating complex conversations and, Suicide response and prevention. We are also offering tailored training in Practical Pastoral Care for Church teams.

• All of our training is presented by excellent communicators who are also practitioners with extensive practical experience in Chaplaincy and Church leadership.

• Our goal continues to have the best equipped Chaplains in the nation as we continue to develop courses to meet the needs.

Highlights

The work of our Chaplains is always our greatest highlight of any report. The selfless and timely response to need which our Chaplains bring is a joy to recount. Whether it is at a workplace, in an aged care facility, in a school, at a sporting event or on a cruise ship – Chaplains are there doing their thing. But apart from that ‘everyday’ chaplaincy we see them respond to accidents and disasters – floods, fires, tragedy and pandemic crisis. It has become expected that we will be there when there is an issue – and we will!

The launch of 1800Chaplain in Nov 2021 was the start of a highlight which has now continued every day for over 16 months. Thousands of calls and thousands of hours support have been offered. We are excited about the possibilities of expanding 1800Chaplain to 12 hours per day in the coming months. We would encourage every Church to explore how 1800Chaplain could assist you in providing skilled and effective Pastoral Care to your community.

Our Supervision and Mentoring Strategy is our third highlight. We now have over 120 Supervisors and Mentors offering support to all of our Chaplains and our Pastors. Supervision is becoming widely understood as an imperative part of health ministry practice. Our CA Supervisors and Mentors are all highly trained and experienced and will enhance your ministry journey. We invite you to check out our Supervision resources at Conference this year. There are so many other highlights to mention:

• Workplace Chaplains placed in FIFO communities in WA.

• Growth in workplace Chaplaincy requests across varied industries.

• Highly successful Chaplaincy Conferences

• 32 ACC ADF Chaplains in service with representation at the highest levels. The goal of having at least one CA Chaplain in every ACC Church is moving towards fulfilment with more and more Pastors realising that chaplaincy is a transformational asset to impact their community.

New initiatives

This next conference season is all about expansion...

• Expansion of 1800Chaplain (from 6 to 12 hours each day)

• Expansion of our Professional Development (Impacting States and Local Churches)

• Expansion of Supervision and Mentoring- Ensuring all of our Pastors, Leaders and Chaplains are adequately supported.

Goals and Vision

We want to become one of the largest and most trusted providers of Christian Chaplaincy across all sectors of the Australian Community.

We are projecting growth of 7% per year – by Conference 2025 we will be expecting 1097 in the network.

We continue to work towards the goal of having a Chaplain or a Chaplaincy ministry attached to every ACC Church.

We are working towards the long-term goal of having 1800Chaplain known and utilised across the country.

Chaplaincy continues to be an opportunity for your Church to make an impact across every sector of your community. Imagine the potential of highly skilled, well trained and motivated individuals reaching out with passion to demonstrate the love, compassion and acceptance of Christ – what could the Lord do with that?

Chaplaincy Australia is ready to assist you prepare your people to make a difference!

Ralph Estherby National Director/CEO