Neighbourhood Chaplains – Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Many people are familiar with hospital, military and workplace chaplains. However, if you put the words neighbourhood and chaplain together to form the descriptive title “Neighbourhood Chaplain,” most often you will be met with a look of puzzlement and the obvious question: “What is a Neighbourhood Chaplain?

Simply defined, a “Neighbourhood Chaplain” is one who comes alongside someone during a time of crisis. It has nothing to do with the title rather the function of being a faithful follower of Jesus.

“Neighbourhoods, in some primitive, inchoate fashion exist wherever human beings congregate, in permanent family dwellings; and many of the functions of the city tend to be distributed naturally—that is, without any theoretical preoccupation or political direction—into neighbourhoods.” Mumford, Lewis (1954) The Neighbourhood and the Neighbourhood Unit

He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ”The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields” (Matthew 9:36-38 NLT).

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