HealthCare Ministries at 25: A faith-filled journey
For 25 years, HealthCare Ministries has shared the Hope
that heals the nations through medical evangelism.
By Peggy Johnson Knutti and Carrie Stewart
“When will this calling and burden You have given me be fulfilled?” Dr. Paul Williams cried out to God as yet another door closed in his face. The journey had been long and frustrating.
Williams, HealthCare Ministries’ first director, felt called to ministry at 11 years of age, and specifically to medical missions at age 16. After completing medical training, Williams sought medical missions’ appointment but the door remained closed for a number of years.
The door began to open slightly in 1982 — and continued to open. In June of 1984, HealthCare Ministries (HCM), the Worldwide Medical Missions Outreach of Assemblies of God World Missions, was established.
Williams shared his thoughts on his trip to Paraguay, his first HCM trip. “I remember distinctly that I didn’t have a clue exactly how the first trip for HCM would be conducted. I just knew that we wanted to treat people and share the love of Jesus with them. We got our medical personnel together and then, almost by Braille, felt our way as we went.”
By the end of that first trip, it was evident how powerful the ministry of medical evangelism could be. Scores gave their hearts to Jesus, others were miraculously healed and others were delivered from demonic powers.
The participation of the local national church and missionaries was and is critical to the ministry of HCM. Their involvement in the spiritual counseling area and follow-up after the teams leave provides the essential long-term component.
HealthCare Ministries’ commitment to being “field-responsive” has resulted in several different kinds of teams — teaching, disaster-relief, optical, surgical and others, depending upon what the national churches and missionaries request.
In the past 25 years, HealthCare Ministries has sent out 382 teams to 86 countries. Approximately 388,000 hurting people have been ministered to both physically and spiritually and close to 85,000 people have prayed one-on-one with the health care professionals and counselors, asking Jesus into their lives.
Already this year, HCM has conducted outreaches in eight different countries, ministered to 7,061 patients and lead 1,614 in the sinner’s prayer. They’ve camped in the south Pacific islands of Vanuatu, endured the sweltering heat of the Philippines and shivered in the cold of Mongolia — just to name a few places HCM has been in 2009.
Not only does HCM want to bring His hope that heals to the nations, but they desire to equip the Church to do the same. HCM has developed resources for helping churches send out medical evangelism teams, including a manual full of logistical information on short-term trips, and their annual Medical Evangelism Forum, which is a seminar informing churches on sending medical missions teams. HCM encourages churches to partner with them, because through medical evangelism the lost and hurting can be reached.
With a sense of great anticipation, HCM looks forward to where the Lord will take the ministry from here. Needs and opportunities are everywhere! As they look back over the past 25 years — how God has led individually and corporately, and now into the future — HCM can only say, “Great is Thy Faithfulness!”
To learn how to partner with HCM or for more information on HealthCare Ministries, visit their Web site, www.healthcareministries.org, or contact their office at 417-866-6311.