Staying The Course

Recently we attended a preacher's conference in our state, where God had clearly brought a number of preachers to the pulpit, with the same burden on their hearts, to proclaim His truth. The emphasis of this one-day conference was faithfulness to the task of pastoring and proclaiming, in spite of the many struggles, pitfalls, and discouragements that come the way of the man of God. Without a doubt, the key principle that was brought forth was that, while the great men of the past, such as Moody, Spurgeon, Sunday, etc., have left us a wonderful picture of faithful service, we dare not ONLY look back to them. The future generation is depending on US now to leave them a legacy of faithfulness. The ministry is never going to get any easier. The devil knows his time is short and he will attempt anything to try to dissuade and discourage those who have been called to stand in the pulpits of America and thunder forth "Thus saith the LORD!". Some will fall prey to his schemes, and that will be tragic. But we must never allow the demise of some to turn the rest of us away from serving God. Somewhere out there someone is depending on you and me to stay faithful. 
This is especially true in the area of nursing home ministry. Many in America's nursing homes are literally living "on the brink of eternity", as we say, and they know it! One of the saddest things about ministering among the elderly is that on any given week we can go into a home for our service, only to find that "so-and-so" is missing. During the week they have slipped off into eternity. How important it is to be there as often as we can, proclaiming the wonderful truths of God's Word; laying out the simple plan of salvation before them, that they might trust in Christ. What if we were not there? I know of several nursing homes where we are the ONLY Bible-preaching ministry there! We must stay faithful to our calling. To do this, we rely upon the faithful giving of God's people in churches that see the importance of reaching "America's fastest growing, yet most neglected mission field". In the days ahead, we are asking God to expand our ministry, both through increased giving that will allow us to travel to more nursing homes, and through the development of C.A.R.E. Ministries in other places. We are actively recruiting couples who share our burden to reach this forgotten segment of society. If you are a pastor and would like to have us come to your church and share this unusual ministry, please call us or e-mail us. We would count it a pleasure. Meanwhile, let's stay faithful!

The Season for Missions!

That title may sound a little misleading, for there really isn't a "season" to focus on missions and reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every day, every month, every season of the year is appropriate to tell others of the Good News that Jesus still saves! However, many churches host their annual Missions Conference during the Fall months, usually in September, October or November.  I love missions conferences! The fellowship, the stirring preaching, meeting new missionaries who are serving our Lord around the world....it's all good, as they say.
Pastors, if you are in the process of planning your annual missions conference, would you consider having us come and share how God is working in the hearts and souls of the elderly (and sometimes, not-so-elderly) through the preaching of the gospel in the nursing homes? While the majority of nursing home residents will never leave the "home", we are seeing more and more people who are there on a short term basis for rehabilitation. If these folks can hear the gospel and trust Christ, they will leave as "new creatures" (2 Cor. 5:17), taking the message of hope with them to those they know.  Additionally, we are able to minister to many staff members who are present during our services. We often hear positive remarks from nurses and helpers about the Bible messages. And, a special treat is when we find a man who has preached the gospel all his life, and is now confined to a nursing home, who appreciates hearing the message he has given out to others through the years. This happened just recently in Ohio where a retired pastor told me afte the service, "I wish everyone in this place could have heard this message". I was pleased that his soul was fed and that God's name had been lifted up in the facility.
But here's our concern. As I've spoken to pastors, evangelists, and fellow-missionaries, I am told repeatedly that they haven't seen anyone else with a ministry quite like ours, dealing with multiple nursing homes. Our desire is to help others begin a C.A.R.E. Ministry in other cities and states. With this in mind, we are putting together a new video to show at missions conferences this year that focuses upon our recruiting efforts to find others with a burden to reach this often forgotten segment of society. I believe every Bible-preaching church would benefit from having its people challenged for souls in this way.
Again, if you would like to have us come and help you and your church see what is being done among the nursing homes, please e-mail us at care.ministries@yahoo.com. It would be our privilege to partner with you in this important and timely ministry.

Missionary Pastor, Norm Aabye