The proverbial saying that God closes one door in order to open another door was never truer than in the development of the Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Conference. At the Regional ICPC meeting in 2003 it was made known to us that ICPC would no longer provide a jail tract for Chaplains from Sheriff’s Departments. Those Chaplains who were at the meeting discussed the need for training at the round table discussion.

On February 27, 2003 15 Chaplains gathered at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department to organize and plan what would become the newly formed Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Conference. At first, it was focused on training for Indiana Sheriff’s Department Chaplains but the vision enlarged to become national as well as for future plans of International training. This meeting became the springboard for the objectives of certification and the standards involved. This also included discussion of what exactly did we want to accomplish and how will the certification benefit local Sheriff Departments.

Over the next three years the establishment of the Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Conference included the levels of certification, the courses needed, a mission and purpose statement and plans to provide training not just for jail chaplains, but for law enforcement chaplains too. These plans also included where to hold the training and who would be the instructors for the needed classes.

As the three years unfolded the development continued and as a result the first Annual Conference was held September 18th and 19th 2006 at the Plainfield Law Enforcement Academy. The Mission Statement: The Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Conference is committed to providing support, training, and certification for chaplains as they minister to Department personnel, and their families, inmates and ex-offenders, crime victims and the community and to promoting the establishment of other Chaplaincy Programs will come to fruition with this first training conference.

With the help of Almighty God, much prayer and the hard work put in by the many Chaplains who have served over the years, the Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Conference became what it is today. It is hoped that through this whole endeavor many more Chaplaincies will be grown and Chaplains will be trained in various areas of law enforcement and jail chaplaincy. May God be glorified in all!