Chaplain Residency Faculty

Rev. Misti Johnson-Arce joined the Baptist Health South Florida organization in May of 2019 as the Director of Clinical Pastoral Education to develop a Master’s level educational training program in spiritual care.  Within the year, she led the program through the first phases of accreditation with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).  We are currently a satellite program of AdventHealth Orlando ACPE Center.  The curriculum and “action-reflection” model are designed to help participants gain comfort in working in pluralistic settings.

Prior to starting with Baptist Health South Florida, Misti was the Chaplain Supervisor and Senior ACPE Certified Educator for a nationwide hospice for 17 years serving in the dual role of educator and manager of chaplains.

Rev. Misti received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and a Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary, also in Pennsylvania.  She has been ordained as a United Church of Christ Minister since 1996.   Misti completed a two year chaplain residency and then a specialty year in psychiatric medicine and family systems theory at Pennstate-Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA, a Trauma 1 medical center.  She also worked with developmentally challenged adults for seven years at a state facility and completed an internship with the Lewisburg maximum state penitentiary for men.

Misti then moved to Virginia and worked as a staff chaplain for Chesapeake General hospital.  Simultaneously, she pursued Supervisory Education training to become an ACPE Certified Educator, through the National Chaplain Education Center for the Veterans’ Health Administration in Hampton, VA. There she served in both inpatient and outpatient settings until she moved to Florida in 2002.

Misti has been a Certified Educator with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education since 2002.  She has served as an accreditation site reviewer for the national office since 2009 and has served on the national ACPE Ethics Commission since 2017. She became board certified with the Association of Professional Chaplains in 2019.

Rev. Dr. Biju Chacko joined Baptist Health South Florida May 22, 2023 to serve as our second Certified ACPE Educator. Biju is endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a native of Kottayam, South India. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Kerala in Trivandrum, India, and earned an MDiv degree from the Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, a ThM from the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies in Bangalore, India, and a Doctor of Ministry from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.

Biju completed a CPE residency and ACPE Certified Education training at Duke University Hospital during 1998-1999 and 2004-2008. He served as CPE Educator and Senior Chaplain from 2010- 2018. Biju has ministered in South Asia, Far East Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. He helped set up the India Baptist Theological Seminary and served as its founding dean, administrator, and interim president. Biju has also served ACPE as a National Site Team Chair for Accreditation.