CPE was begun in 1925 as a way to train pastors to relate to people in need, such as hospital patients.
Programs combine academic study with supervised ministry internships.
The program at Eastern Mennonite Seminary began in 1999. It is the only CPE program in the Shenandoah Valley and envisions offering internships in business, church and community settings, as well as at local hospitals. Derstine was CPE supervisor and manager at St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services in Indianapolis from 1995 until earlier this year. He provided administrative oversight to the St. Vincent intern, residency and supervisory training program and to satellite CPE units in five central Indiana hospitals. Derstine is a 1973 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University and earned a master of divinity degree from the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.