Nursing Homes

Would You Do It For One?

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40

I had just left the small prayer meeting we were having at the nursing home and small was the word of the day. Our tiny meeting had gotten even tinier and that afternoon as the elevator door closed behind me I was ready to give up. Then I heard a voice: no not an audible voice, but still a clear impression of a six-word question – “Would you do it for one?”

See in this day of the mega church, international worship conferences and YouTube videos with millions of views, it is easy to lose sight of individual people. But our God, who watches sparrows and counts the hairs on our heads never forgets a single one. He remembers a woman named Mary who stayed in her room for months at her nursing home because of Covid cases on her floor. He watches over Marcos, who is still confined to his bed and without a visitor for the last 18 months. He listens to the prayers of a nurse named Helen as she cares for them, day after day, and month after month. God knows, God sees, God cares and to Him they are all precious. He gave His life on the cross so He could reach out and touch them all – and He does that one person at a time. Would you be a servant to them for Jesus? It is never too late to begin!

To learn more about nursing home ministry you might find my newly revised book a useful place to start. Would You Do It For One? not only tells the story of how I got started , but also gives easy practical ways to get involved in your own community. If you have an interest in nursing home ministry and would like other resources, we also have a free weekly newsletter written by a small group of us. This morning I am so excited to be going out to two different homes to sing and be included in a special Father’s Day presentation. God bless and have a good week-end everybody!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520108710

Chosen to Serve Tables

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, Acts 6:3-4 ESV

If you hadn’t read the beginning of this chapter you might think that these guys were being selected to be missionaries, teachers of theology or pastors of large churches. But in fact, they were picked to serve food at the tables of widows. They were in charge of a first century “Meals on wheels”!  We rarely stop to think that ministry is so mundane and unspiritual. But the early church considered feeding widows and supplying the needs of the poor as the front-line duties of the leadership. When these so-called “unspiritual duties” were neglected by the apostles, the entire church began to complain. Notice they didn’t complain about the lack of sermons or the rarity of miracles. They got mad because no one went to feed the elderly widows. The church felt that the most important ministry was to act as the family to the widow and as mothers and fathers for orphans.

When we are ready to help with for the most needed ministry in our local church, we just might be amazed to see what happens next!

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…Acts 6:7

Through the Great Waters

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

The closing of the door to nursing home ministry during Covid reminds me of this verse. 14 months ago the doors closed to in person visitation and frankly I was unwilling to continue putting myself and others at risk. Then came long uncertain and often confusing months of terrifying statistics and our world shut down to silence.

During that time I began producing weekly videos and put out a devotional newsletter as an effort to stay connected and to bring a little cheer. These were not professionally done nevertheless the residents seemed to like them. What a joy it was today to step out of those great waters today as I began singing again for my dear friends in memory care at Sunshine Christian Home. This is the second of three facilities where we used to have services to reopen.

A few even remembered me! I say all this to encourage you to never give up on what God has given you to do or the field of service he has called you to. No great waters are too great for God! In fact God delights in making a way through impossible obstacles because just like the children of Israel we can rejoice on the other side of the sea. For the record, the first song we sang after 14 months was, This is the Day. Yes this is most certainly the day the Lord has made!

Tomorrow the third place where I used to hold services has invited me also so I’ll update you on how that goes. If anyone has been involved with ministry at Long Term Care facilities and you have questions let me know.