Do we need an existing chaplain to use this?

No. The kit is written for the person who has been asked to start something and has nobody in post yet. The recruitment and vetting sections come before the deployment sections for that reason.

Will this work for a small agency?

Yes. The sequence scales down. A department with four chaplains needs the same MOU, the same vetting standard, and the same reporting line as one with forty; it just needs less of the deployment infrastructure.

Is this specific to one faith tradition?

No. The kit assumes a multi-faith volunteer corps serving a secular agency, which is the only posture that holds up in a public-safety setting.

Lead Magnet — Resource 02

Chaplaincy Program Starter Kit

The 30-page playbook for standing up a chaplaincy program at your agency.

Most chaplaincy programs die in their second year — not because the work wasn't needed, but because nobody wrote down what good looked like. This playbook is the document Dr. Mzizi wishes someone had handed him in 1983.

PDF 6 pages · launch edition · Free with email

Who this is for

Sheriff and police administrators considering a chaplaincy program
Existing programs that need to professionalize
Faith leaders being asked to "start something" by their local agency

What you get

Step-by-step launch sequence (months 1–6)
MOU template language
Volunteer recruitment + vetting criteria
Onboarding curriculum + first-90-days plan
Deployment categories and response protocols
Year-1 success metrics

Why most programs fail in year two

A chaplaincy program almost never fails because the need evaporated. It fails because it was founded on a relationship rather than a document. A supportive sheriff retires, a champion captain transfers, and the program has nothing written down to survive the handover — no scope, no vetting standard, no reporting line, no definition of what good looks like.

The kit exists to move a program from goodwill to structure while the goodwill still exists. It gives you the sequence and the artifacts. It does not do the political work of building agency buy-in, and it will not substitute for a coordinator who is present.

What this kit is not

This is a launch sequence, not a training curriculum. It tells you what to stand up and in what order; it does not teach a chaplain how to conduct the ministry once deployed. The role definition, the ethical boundaries, the critical-incident work, and the standards a mature program is measured against are the subject of Chaplain with a Badge.

Before you download

Common questions

Do we need an existing chaplain to use this?: No. The kit is written for the person who has been asked to start something and has nobody in post yet. The recruitment and vetting sections come before the deployment sections for that reason.
Will this work for a small agency?: Yes. The sequence scales down. A department with four chaplains needs the same MOU, the same vetting standard, and the same reporting line as one with forty; it just needs less of the deployment infrastructure.
Is this specific to one faith tradition?: No. The kit assumes a multi-faith volunteer corps serving a secular agency, which is the only posture that holds up in a public-safety setting.