Ministry of Good News to People in Crises

Many of you know that a few of us from Life Way Counseling Center had the opportunity to minister at Ground Zero two weeks following 911. Jerry Kelly, MD, our Medical Director and Steve Griebling had the shift from 1:00 PM til 1:00 AM and Carla Faison and I took over for the next twelve hours. It was a great privilege to hear the stories of pain, trauma and loss from those big, strong Irish Fire Fighters and Cops.

We learned a lot and we have been able to share our insights with several groups over the past four years. One group is the Red Cross of Singapore. Log onto their web and see a photo of this fine group.

http://www.redcross.org.sg/publication/rcnews_dec2003/2j.html

Steve and I were amazed to discover that many Red Cross groups around the world focus almost exclusively on the physical and health care issues following a traumatic event. They were not, as a rule, sending teams who listened to the victims or who were prepared to minister to their emotional, spiritual and relational needs.

We were able to show them how ministry to the whole person was critically important and they have added that to their program. The Director and his assistant have both attended our Christ based workshops in Singapore and decided to develop a training program for professionals and volunteers. Steve and I were able to witness to over 100 men and women about why we minister to hurting people.

This is another way Life Way Ministries touches people with the love of Christ around the world. We take Servant Evangelism to an entirely new and deeper level. Passing out Cokes is great but Passing on the good news about healing broken hearted and setting the captives free is inspiring the Red Cross to integrate emotional and spiritual issues into their programs.