Nursing Homes

Far Beyond and Infinitely More

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:30 NLT

This morning I just wanted to express my overflowing gratitude for God and for you who have prayed for our nursing home outreach. Since reopening the three homes I visited pre-Covid only 2 of them have returned to somewhat normal attendance. One facility which is nice but understaffed has been so unresponsive that though I was earnestly praying for people to come I was ready to give up our meetings. Then two weeks ago God began His answer by having a sympathetic staff person get involved who brought in 8-10 people. At the time I posted here about my excitement at God’s answer but I was totally unprepared for yesterday’s amazing experience.

It began an hour before I was scheduled to come when one of the residents called my cellphone. This would normally have been my week to sing for the memory care unit but Lucy let me know they had me on the calendar for a different room. A bit confused I prepared some extra devotional newsletters to give out and loaded my things in the car.

On entering Watermark Assisted Living the lady at the desk directed me towards a meeting room on the first floor I had never seen before. In a bit of confusion I carried my guitar and music stand around a few corners till finally I walked into a room jammed with more than twenty residents and family members from every ward including my special memory care friends! So today I simply am posting to give God glory and say thank you to every one of you who have prayed, commented and encouraged me along the way. No matter how long I have been following Jesus, He never seems to run out of new ways to amaze me by his far beyond – overwhelming – and infinitely more way of answering prayer!

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