Screening for Chaplain Endorsement

InFaith provides nondenominational ecclesiastical endorsement for chaplains. This short screening tells us whether endorsement through InFaith is a fit, and which path applies to you.

1 Is InFaith a fit?

Are you a U.S. citizen?
All chaplains endorsed by InFaith must be U.S. citizens.

U.S. citizenship is required for the chaplaincies InFaith endorses. We are not able to take your application further, but we would still be glad to hear from you.

Contact us

InFaith is built upon the Word of God and our personal faith in Jesus Christ. We hold to the great foundational truths of the historic Christian faith held in common by like-minded evangelical Christians with whom we share both fellowship and the mission mandate: We believe that there is one God, Creator, and Sustainer of the universe, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, is inerrant in the original manuscripts, and is uniquely infallible, our only authority for faith and practice.

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His substitutionary sacrifice upon the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His victory over sin and His enemy Satan, in His present exaltation at His Father's right hand, and in His personal return, at any time, in power and great glory.

We believe in the fall and the lostness of man, whose total depravity requires that he be regenerated by the Holy Spirit for his salvation.

We believe that salvation consists of the forgiveness of sins, the imputation of Christ's righteousness, and the gift of eternal life, received by grace through faith alone, entirely apart from works.

We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life, and by whom the Church, the Body of Christ, is gifted and equipped to serve and glorify God.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind: those who have trusted in Christ, the ultimate Judge, will receive everlasting life and blessedness in heaven; those who have not will receive everlasting punishment and separation from the presence of God.

We believe that Christ has commanded His Church to preach the gospel to all people and that this mandate should be a primary concern of all Christians.

Open on its own page

InFaith enables called and committed followers of Christ to serve with purpose and passion within our nation's borders.

Passion for God: We love God and desire to have others come into a personal relationship with the Savior. We value each person as an individual who has a need to recognize his or her lostness and need for a Savior. We believe the Scriptures are the primary way God speaks to us.

Focused: We are about connecting people with relevant ministry in the United States. We believe that people transformed by Jesus will be a redemptive community, causing winds of revival within our nation's borders.

Spiritual Relationships: We want to be people who come alongside individuals and help them understand what it means to be a Christ-follower. We affirm each person's giftedness and will help others use their gifts in Kingdom service.

Catalyst for Community: We are a people who value the church. We seek to bring people together for worship, community, teaching, and ministry.

Ears that Hear: As we talk to God in prayer, we listen carefully for His voice as revealed in Scripture and through the work of the Spirit. We are a people who are committed to asking God to reveal His will to us through careful and consistent corporate and private prayer.

Peacemakers: While holding tightly to our statement of faith, we seek to focus on that which brings unity and common purpose. We refrain from controversy and divisive issues that cause strife, choosing to center on Jesus and His redemptive work.

Relevance: As culture changes, we will adjust our methods to be relevant to whomever God brings our way. We are cognizant of our rich history, which we see as a foundation for the future. Like our founders, we are pioneers. We seek relevance through evaluation of our methods as we teach the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing culture.

Clean Hearts: We are a broken people. When we make mistakes, we respond graciously, asking for and giving forgiveness. We come to the cross as equals, people who have a sinful nature and have experienced the miracle of grace from our Savior.

Commitment to Each Other: We are a group of Christ-followers who intentionally live out what it means to be the family of God, submitting to each other, willingly accountable, and genuinely caring for those who are called to our common work.

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Read the Apostles' Creed
Read our position

2 Which chaplaincy?

Which branch?
Which path are you on?

The Navy's in-service window closes 15 January 2027. Applications for the Chaplain Corps In-Service Procurement Program are due to the Navy by that date, and your package must include a Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088) signed by InFaith. Start this screening now so we have time to prepare it.

Navy program questions go to NAVCHCISPP@US.NAVY.MIL. Details are on the Navy Chaplain Corps ISPP page.

The Navy's in-service window closes 15 January 2027. Marine Corps chaplains are Navy Chaplain Corps officers, so this is the program that applies to you. Applications are due to the Navy by that date, and your package must include a Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088) signed by InFaith.

Program questions go to NAVCHCISPP@US.NAVY.MIL. Details are on the Navy Chaplain Corps ISPP page.

The Army has not published its instructions yet. The Chaplain In-Service Procurement Program is authorized, but the Army Directive and the MILPER message that will set dates and application steps are still to come. We expect them in the months ahead, with selections following.

Soldiers can write to CHIPP@army.mil in the meantime. Tell us about yourself here and we will be ready to endorse you as soon as the Army opens the window.

The Air Force and Space Force have not published an in-service program yet. The authority covers every service, but nothing has been released for airmen and guardians so far. Tell us about yourself and we will let you know as soon as your service publishes its instructions.

The Air Force and Space Force have not published an in-service program yet. The authority covers every service, but nothing has been released for airmen and guardians so far. Tell us about yourself and we will let you know as soon as your service publishes its instructions.

The Navy's in-service window closes 15 January 2027. Coast Guard chaplains are Navy Chaplain Corps officers, so this is the program that applies to you. Applications are due to the Navy by that date, and your package must include a Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088) signed by InFaith.

Program questions go to NAVCHCISPP@US.NAVY.MIL. Details are on the Navy Chaplain Corps ISPP page.

In-service programs are written for active-duty members. Whether a Guardsman or Reservist can apply depends on your service's instructions, which are still being written for most branches. Tell us your status and we will find out with you.

An endorsement for this program is conditional. InFaith will endorse well-qualified applicants so that you can complete your application packet. That endorsement is contingent on your acceptance into the program and on your enrollment in, and attendance at, an in-person seminary program. If you are not selected for the program and do not attend seminary in person, the endorsement will be withdrawn.

In-service programs have firm eligibility rules. These answers tell us quickly whether you qualify.

That pay grade sits outside the eligibility as we understand it today: officers in a pay grade of O-3 or below, enlisted members E-5 or above. Answer anyway — the rules differ by service and several are still unpublished — but confirm with your own chain of command before you count on applying.

Years of active service completed
Your age
In-service programs set both a minimum age and an age by which you must be able to reach 20 years of service.
Do you hold a bachelor's degree of at least 120 semester hours?
Your undergraduate GPA
The Navy program requires a 3.0 or above.
Do you currently hold a security clearance?
What setting?
How many units of Clinical Pastoral Education have you completed?
Are you board certified?
For example through BCCI, APC, NACC or CPSP.
Where you serve now, or where you hope to.
What kind of agency?
How would you serve?
Do you have first responder chaplain training?
For example ICPC, FBCA or a state academy program.
Where are you in the process?
The institution name if you know it, otherwise the state or BOP region.
Have you completed Clinical Pastoral Education?
The Bureau of Prisons normally expects CPE units. Tell us where you are either way.
For example Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Auxiliary, a campus, a workplace or a community organization.

3 Your education and ordination

Where are you with a graduate theological degree?
In what format?
At least half of your coursework must be completed in a classroom. Fully online programs are not accepted, and a hybrid program only qualifies if the in-person share reaches half.

A fully online degree will not meet the requirement. InFaith asks that at least half of your coursework be completed in a classroom, and the services ask for in-person coursework too. A hybrid program counts only if the in-person share reaches half. Tell us about your program anyway and we will look at it with you.

How many graduate semester hours have you completed?

InFaith is not an ordaining body, and we do not recognize online ordinations. Your ordination, license or commission must come from a church body or denomination that knows you and has examined you for ministry -- not from a service that issues credentials online for a fee. Our endorsement rests on that body's judgment of you, so it has to be a judgment someone actually made.

What is your ordination status?
The church, denomination or association that ordained, licensed or commissioned you. Online ordination services are not recognized.

InFaith endorses chaplains; it does not ordain them. You can send this screening in without ordination, but we cannot bring you on without a clear path to it through a church body or denomination that knows you. If that is still ahead of you, say where it stands in the questions below.

4 How can we reach you?

Endorsement normally takes four to six weeks from the point where we have everything we need. We answer applicants in the order their materials reach us, so there is no need to follow up by phone or email.

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