Now accepting applications for Summer 2027 Internship!

2027 Chaplain Intern Role Description

Lifeline Chaplaincy | Houston

About Lifeline Chaplaincy

Founded in 1983, Lifeline Chaplaincy is a nonprofit outreach of the Churches of Christ serving hospitals in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Central Texas.

Our Mission
Dedicated to providing compassionate support to the seriously ill, their families and caregivers, and to being an educational resource for crisis ministry.

Lifeline provides pastoral and spiritual care through professional chaplains, trained volunteers, and chaplain interns serving under the supervision of experienced chaplains.

The Chaplain Intern Program

Lifeline’s Chaplain Intern Program began in 1986 to give university students hands-on experience ministering to patients and families in healthcare settings. Originally designed primarily for ministry students, the program now welcomes students from a variety of disciplines—including nursing, social work, psychology, pre-med, and other fields—who desire to integrate compassionate ministry with their chosen vocation.

Past interns have attended Abilene Christian University, Pepperdine University, Lipscomb University, Lubbock Christian University, Oklahoma Christian University, Harding University, York University, and other institutions. Students from all universities and academic disciplines are welcome to apply.

The Houston internship is typically a 12-week summer experience. Other 12-week arrangements may occasionally be considered. Lifeline works with interns to arrange housing with local families.

An Experiential Learning Environment

At the heart of the internship is the belief that some of the most important lessons in ministry are learned through experience.

Hospitals, patient rooms, and clinics become a “living laboratory” where interns encounter people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences who are facing serious illness, uncertainty, grief, and loss.

Interns are expected to approach these encounters as people committed to serve, minister, listen, reflect, and learn. Rather than providing easy answers to difficult questions, interns learn how to be faithfully present with people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

Primary Responsibilities

During the internship, chaplain interns will participate in:

• Pastoral Care: Visit patients and families in assigned hospitals and provide compassionate spiritual and emotional support.
• Chaplaincy Education: Participate in didactic sessions addressing pastoral care, theology, suffering, grief, crisis, spiritual care, and related topics.
• Clinical Reflection: Process patient encounters through written verbatims, case discussions, supervision, and group feedback.
• Theological Reflection: Reflect personally and theologically on experiences with illness, suffering, grief, faith, hope, and loss.
• Camp Agape: Serve as a counselor at Camp Agape, a Christian camp for children and families who have experienced the death of a loved one.
• Professional Development: Learn to function responsibly and compassionately within complex healthcare environments alongside chaplains, healthcare professionals, patients, and families.

What We Expect from Interns

Hospital ministry requires both structure and flexibility. Some days follow a predictable schedule; others change quickly because of the needs of patients, families, or hospital staff.

Interns should demonstrate:

• Spiritual, emotional, and relational maturity
• Compassion and respect for people from diverse backgrounds
• Strong listening and interpersonal skills
• Openness to supervision, feedback, and personal growth
• Adaptability in unpredictable situations
• Appropriate professional boundaries and behavior
• A willingness to wrestle thoughtfully with difficult theological and spiritual questions
• Humility in recognizing that ministry does not always provide simple or tidy answers

Interns will encounter people whose beliefs, cultures, experiences, and perspectives may differ significantly from their own. These encounters provide opportunities to deepen one’s appreciation for others, examine personal assumptions, and develop a more thoughtful understanding of God’s presence in times of illness, suffering, and loss.

It is a profound privilege to be invited into another person’s sacred journey during moments of vulnerability and crisis.

Life Beyond the Hospital

Although the internship involves serious and meaningful work, the summer is not entirely solemn. Interns typically develop strong relationships with one another and find many opportunities for fellowship, recreation, and celebration.

Houston offers an extraordinary variety of restaurants, museums, performing arts, professional sports, cultural experiences, and other activities. Access to a vehicle is helpful, although public transportation is available.

2027 Summer Internship

Internship Dates: May 14–August 6, 2027
Location: Houston, Texas
Length: Approximately 12 weeks
Stipend: $5,000
Housing: Lifeline works closely with accepted interns to arrange suitable housing with families in the Houston area.

Application Process

The number of internship positions is limited. Interested students are encouraged to apply early by submitting:

• A cover letter
• Résumé
• References

Qualified applicants will be contacted for an interview by videoconference or in person.

We invite you to prayerfully consider whether Lifeline Chaplaincy’s internship might be part of your vocational and spiritual development. Whether your future lies in ministry, healthcare, counseling, social work, or another helping profession, this experience offers a unique opportunity to grow in compassion, self-awareness, spiritual care, and the ministry of presence while accompanying people through some of life’s most difficult moments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lifeline Chaplaincy Summer Internship — 2027

1. What is the purpose of Lifeline’s internship program?

The internship gives students hands-on experience providing spiritual and emotional support to hospital patients and their loved ones under the supervision of experienced professional chaplains.

Interns also develop:

• Listening and interpersonal skills
• Greater self-awareness
• Experience responding to serious illness, grief, and loss
• Opportunities to reflect on the spiritual dimensions of healthcare ministry

2. Who will interns serve?

Lifeline interns primarily provide pastoral care to Church of Christ patients and families in designated hospitals.

Interns may also work alongside a hospital staff chaplain and assist with patients on the chaplain’s assigned units.

3. Who is eligible to apply?

The program is open to:

• College juniors and seniors
• Graduate students
• Men and women from any university

Many interns attend Church of Christ–affiliated universities, but students from all universities are welcome to apply.

Because Lifeline primarily serves Church of Christ patients, applicants should have a Church of Christ background or enough familiarity with Church of Christ culture and traditions to provide appropriate spiritual care.

4. Where will the 2027 internship be offered?

Houston, Texas

5. Is there a stipend?

Yes. The stipend for the Summer 2027 internship is $5,000.

6. Is housing provided?

Yes. Lifeline will arrange housing with a local church family for interns who need it.

7. What are the internship dates?

May 14–August 6, 2027

The internship begins Friday, May 14, and concludes Friday, August 6.

8. How do I apply?

Applications are due November 30, 2026. Early applications are encouraged.

Please submit:

• A résumé
• A letter describing your interest in the internship
• Three references

Send application materials to:

Paul Riddle
Director of Spiritual Care, Lifeline Chaplaincy Houston
priddle@lifelinechaplaincy.org

Selected applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview.

9. Who can I contact with questions?

Paul Riddle
Director of Spiritual Care, Lifeline Chaplaincy Houston
Cell: 713-899-5531
Email: priddle@lifelinechaplaincy.org