Hospital-I.T.Y. (Synopsis)

Here's the rationale for Beth and I's new hospital ministry: (copied and pasted from our ministry proposal)

The inspiration for this ministry comes from our understanding of God’s special love for the sick and the hurting.  From Isaiah 61, we know that one of the evidences of God’s Kingdom on earth is the binding up of the broken-hearted.  This fallen world is full of hurting people, and just as Jesus sought them out and restored them in His ministry, we are called to do our part to “restore our broken world” and show God’s love to those that need it most.

This ministry has two general purposes.  The first purpose is to show God’s love through Christian hospitality, especially to patients and families that are visiting Rochester from afar and are separated from their normal support system.  This may include anything from a friendly chat to a home-cooked meal to a parking spot to a spare room, depending on the situation.  The second purpose is to provide spiritual support and understanding to those that desire it.  This will depend on the situation and on interest but can include everything from a short prayer, to a listening ear, to a formal family support group and weekly devotional.

We believe this ministry fits with the CCC DNA and the church mission in obvious and important ways.  We believe all Christians are called to reach out beyond the walls of the church building, to love in radical ways, and to make the gospel of Jesus Christ attractive to our broken world.  We believe this ministry can restore people while bringing glory to God and declaring the presence of His kingdom.

1.              Who is the intended audience for this project?

We believe that the patient’s primary source of comfort and support often comes from his or her family and medical providers, assuming these people are present and that the dynamics are functional (as is the case in most Christian families).  In these cases, our primary focus will often be on the families, who are frequently hurting as much or more than the patient but (especially when coming from afar) lack necessary support, feel lonely, and struggle with issues of understanding.

2.              Will you be recruiting a team of people and how will they be selected?

We would be thrilled to welcome anyone with a heart for the hurting into this ministry.  Anyone could potentially play a role, depending on his or her comfort levels and spiritual gifting.  The size and scope of this ministry will be directly proportional to the number of people who are interested in serving in it.  It would be nice to have a registry of people willing to be contacted for hospitality reasons (making a meal, offering a spare room, etc).  People with clinical backgrounds are particularly well-suited to make hospital visits without violating any rules or norms, whereas people with the gift of teaching could take turns leading support groups at each hospital, etc.  Basically, the bigger the team, the more people we can open our services up to and, hopefully, the bigger the impact.  There are numerous resources on hospital ministry that can be made available to anyone interested.  A training workshop would likely be in order for those particularly interested in bedside hospital ministry.

3.              What is the process for ministry engagement?  Timeline?

This ministry can begin effective immediately.  At this stage, it is only the two of us, so we simply can’t open up our services to every patient and family in Rochester, as much as we’d like to.  It makes the most sense, currently, for CCC to refer patients and families that they are aware of to our ministry.  Depending on the level of ministry involvement and the closeness of the patient relationship, it is reasonable for each ministry team member (couples counting as 1) to carry a “case load” of 1 to 3 patients.  If the ministry really takes off, we would like to make the Mayo chaplains aware of us so that they can refer appropriate patients and families as well.   Perhaps by summer 2013, it would be nice to start up a family support group that meets within the hospital.  This can be advertised within hospital chapels.  Because the hospital population is constantly overturning, these meetings can be a recurring devotional and discussion of 3-4 topics (worry/uncertainty, suffering, comfort, etc).

4.              How will success be measured upon ministry completion?

We will always have the sick, so it’s hard to imagine this ministry reaching a state of completion.  If this ministry is truly led by the Spirit and is consistent with God’s heart for our community, then we should expect spiritual results.  I would hope, as it has been our experience, that the ministering will gain as much comfort and insight from this ministry as those being ministered to.