Lifeline Chaplaincy

What Lifeline Chaplaincy does

Lifeline Chaplaincy is a non-profit pastoral care ministry founded in 1983 in Houston, Texas, providing spiritual and emotional support to seriously ill hospital patients, their families, and caregivers across major Texas medical centers. The organization operates as an outreach of Churches of Christ and serves hospitals including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (its founding partner), Houston Methodist, Texas Children's Hospital, UT Southwestern Clements Hospital, Dell Seton Medical Center at UT Austin, and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Temple. It maintains a Houston headquarters at 1415 Southmore Blvd. and regional offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin/Central Texas, each led by a Director of Spiritual Care.

The organization's service portfolio is built around a volunteer-driven chaplaincy model. Core products include hospital-based pastoral care visits, a two-part Ministry in Times of Illness and Loss (MTIL) workshop curriculum, three-hour on-demand seminars, monthly 90-minute webinars, and a 12-week summer chaplain internship program for university students from Churches of Christ universities. Revenue is generated exclusively through donations rather than fees for service: a tiered Care Community monthly giving program ($10-$100 across five tiers with quantified patient-connection targets per donor), planned legacy gifts via wills and trusts (partnered with Philanthrocorp for free estate planning), general donations from individuals and congregations, and benefit events such as 'A Night at the Ballpark'. A related 501(c)(3), Compassionate Touch, Inc., spun off in 1997 to provide financial assistance to patients and has disbursed over $4.9 million since inception. Leadership transitioned in January 2021 when Dr. Justin Thompson succeeded founding leader Dr. Virgil Fry as Executive Director.

Name

Lifeline Chaplaincy

Legal name

Lifeline Chaplaincy

Website

https://lifelinechaplaincy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lifeline Chaplaincy is a Houston-based non-profit pastoral care organization founded in 1983 that provides volunteer chaplaincy services to seriously ill hospital patients, families, and caregivers across Texas, while delivering training workshops, webinars, and internship programs to Churches of Christ communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Healthcare Ministries (Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Missions) (BPAGAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF), End-of-Life Emotional & Spiritual Support (Chaplaincy/Counseling) In-Home (HSABAFAH)

Keywords

• Pastoral care services
• Clinical pastoral education
• Hospital chaplaincy
• Chaplain training programs
• Spiritual care support

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Monthly Giving (Care Community): Monthly recurring donations at tiered levels ($10-$100/month) that support ongoing patient care and ministry operations. Tiers include Friends ($10), Listeners ($25), Comforters ($50), Companions ($75), and Advocates ($100) with corresponding patient/family connection targets.
2. Legacy/Estate Gifts: Planned giving through wills and trusts to ensure long-term sustainability of the chaplaincy ministry.
3. Donations and Contributions: General donations from individuals, congregations, and organizations supporting the mission.
4. Event Fundraising: Benefit events such as 'A Night at the Ballpark' that raise funds and community awareness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lifeline Chaplaincy is a Christian nonprofit that delivers pastoral and spiritual care through two channels: (1) Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs that train chaplains, pastors, and lay caregivers, and (2) hospital chaplaincy placements where it supplies chaplains to healthcare facilities to provide spiritual care to patients, families, and staff. It also runs donor-supported community ministry, including legacy giving and event-based fundraising.

Product overview

Lifeline Chaplaincy is a non-profit pastoral care ministry that provides compassionate spiritual support to seriously ill hospital patients, their families, and caregivers across Texas. The organization operates through a multi-tiered service model centered on direct pastoral care delivery supplemented by educational training programs. Core offerings include hospital-based chaplaincy services at major Texas Medical Center and regional hospitals, a comprehensive workshop-based training curriculum (MTIL Parts 1 and 2), condensed seminars, monthly webinars, and a university chaplain internship program. Additional services encompass patient referral systems, volunteer chaplain programs, the Care Community monthly giving initiative, and legacy estate planning partnerships. Educational content is distributed through published articles and infographics addressing grief, pastoral care skills, and crisis ministry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) units for clergy, seminarians, and lay caregivers seeking chaplaincy credentials or pastoral skills; delivered through the organization's Houston-area training site and across its Texas offices.
• Hospital Chaplaincy Services Provision of trained chaplains to hospitals and healthcare facilities to deliver spiritual care to patients, families, and staff across Texas (Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Central Texas).

Quantifiable outcome

• Compassionate Touch has gifted over $4.9 million to struggling hospital patients since 1997

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PhilanthrocorpminorOthersEstate planning partner that provides free estate planning services to Lifeline supporters interested in legacy giving. Philanthrocorp helps donors create estate plans that include gifts to Lifeline Chaplaincy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• VITAS Healthcare: Largest U.S. hospice provider, part of Chemed Corporation, employing chaplains as part of interdisciplinary end-of-life care teams. Comparable in delivering chaplaincy to seriously ill and dying patients, but operates at national hospice scale and as a for-profit entity.
• CommonSpirit Health: One of the largest U.S. Catholic non-profit health systems, operating 140+ hospitals with in-house chaplaincy programs. Comparable in providing faith-rooted spiritual care within hospital systems, but as a diversified health system with far broader clinical and operational scope.
• Advocate Health: Large U.S. faith-based (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) health system operating across multiple states with employed chaplaincy teams. Comparable in faith-based hospital spiritual-care delivery, but as a multi-state health system rather than a focused chaplaincy ministry.

Others

• Association of Professional Chaplains: Multi-faith, interprofessional chaplaincy association that certifies board-certified chaplains (BCC), the same credential held by Lifeline's directors. Comparable as a peer in chaplaincy standards-setting, though it is a professional membership body rather than a service-delivery organization.
• Hospice Foundation of America: Non-profit organization providing education and resources on end-of-life care, including spiritual care. Related thematically to Lifeline's pastoral care for seriously ill patients, but functions as an education/advocacy body rather than a direct chaplaincy service provider.

Direct peers

• Spiritual Care Association: Non-profit organization (formerly HealthCare Chaplaincy Network) that provides chaplaincy certification, education, and hospital spiritual-care services nationally. Directly comparable in mission and service mix to Lifeline Chaplaincy, but operates at significantly larger scale and across multiple faith traditions.
• Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains: Faith-based professional association training and credentialing Jewish chaplains for hospital, hospice, and communal settings. Directly comparable as a faith-anchored chaplaincy organization serving seriously ill populations, though with a Jewish (rather than Church of Christ) denominational base.
• National Association of Catholic Chaplains: Faith-based membership and certification organization for Catholic chaplains serving in hospitals, hospices, and other settings. Closely comparable to Lifeline as a faith-rooted chaplaincy membership body, but with Catholic denominational reach and national scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/lifelinechaplaincy
• Facebookfacebook.com/lifeline.chaplaincy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3514891
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifelinechaplaincy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lifeline Chaplaincy