Why We have not been Able to Produce many Certified Professional Chaplains in Nigeria and Continent of Africa

Why We have not been Able to Produce many Certified Professional Chaplains in Nigeria and Continent of Africa

We have numerous chaplain generals in Nigeria and there is hardly any household or family without a chaplain general. However, we have not been that lucky to produce more than a handful of certified professional chaplains. Reasons for this may not be too farfetched, some of such reasons are adduced below:-

1.     Professional chaplaincy practice is new to our people and the nascent professional chaplaincy practice and service delivery cannot support the production of numerous certified chaplains as at moment.

2.     Many chaplains cannot pay the price for certification in terms of:

a.     educational requirements,

b.     engaging in professional practice,

c.      passing through the professional training to earn units for certification,

d.     financial investment,

e.     supervised practice settings,

f.       Collegial reflection and interaction which gives professionals to develop their own theology of chaplaincy practice.

NB: Another factor is the fact that, certification takes some processes and procedures which makes the growth and development of certified chaplains follow a systematic process and as such certified professional chaplains cannot be mass produced like slippers.

Certified chaplains are also highly respected professionals, who must at all times maintain the needed decorum in the society where they operate or sojourn.

Certified professional chaplains are guided by codes of conducts, ethics and standards of practice for chaplaincy practice and service delivery and erring professional may have his/her certification and license withdrawn for wrong doing and practice.

This stringent conditions has made certification hard to be sought for by many chaplains in Nigeria and continent of Africa.

Chap. Prof. Mike-Jacobs

Certified Chaplaincy Educator