P.S. to Year's End

I try to stay away from talking about any of the negative experiences we have in the course of our ministering in the nursing homes. For the most part, it has been wonderful these past 16 years!  However, things seem to be rapidly changing. Now, if you are the pastor of a church that has one or two nursing homes that you visit, you may not have experienced much in the way of restrictions (except for the COVID fiasco!) or change over the past few years. But because we are in many facilities, we see a much broader picture. 

When we first began C.A.R.E. Ministries in 2006, many of the Activity Directors were born-again Christians who really had a heart for the type of ministry we brought. They went out of their way to accommodate our needs and there were literally no restrictions on what I could preach or how we could minister. However, with very few exceptions, the spiritual landscape of the nursing homes has changed and is changing for the worse. The new breed of Activity Director seems to be younger and less spiritually-minded than their predecessors. One facility where we, as well as our local church, have ministered for many years, has a new AD that has never returned my calls in the past year! I leave messages and explain that we'd like to get back in and could she explain any COVID restrictions, etc., but to no avail. Not even a returned phone call. Amazing. Yet we see on their Facebook page  other people apparently carrying out some kind of activities in the nursing home. Another facility has also made it very difficult for us to return. Again, frequent phone calls to see if their restrictions have dropped have not resulted in even a returned call.

One of the larger facilities that we have ministered in since our beginning, has been closed to us but recently called inviting us to come back in January. We were so excited, but it was short-lived. I received a call the other day informing me that they had "hired" a woman to come in and do Bible studies. The AD told me they also had a chaplain, so they wouldn't be needing us anymore. Of course, those who know their Bible understand that the apostle Paul made it clear that women are prohibited from teaching men (even in a mixed group): 1Ti 2:12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. The word "suffer" means "allow". God has a  certain "chain of command", so to speak, when it comes the handling of His Word. The Bible does not allow for women preachers or pastors or Bible study leaders (unless it is a women's group). Now, I understand that the administration at the nursing home may not know or may not care what the Bible says, but as someone in the ministry for the past 35 years, I can see "the handwriting on the wall", so to speak. What do I mean?

A new generation of workers fresh out of college with a "woke" philosophy fresh in their minds; nursing homes that are being bought out by large healthcare corporations who frankly are looking only at the "bottom line" of profits; and a society that is becoming more and more alienated towards Bible-based Christianity. If the Lord tarries in His return, I believe we can expect less interest in spiritual things from the nursing homes...the very place where people are "living on the brink of Eternity" and want someone to come and share with them the truth of the Word of God!

It may sound like I'm "venting" here, but I wanted you to know what we are up against in trying to reach a larger number of nursing homes with the gospel. Although the world seems like it's spinning out of control, we are thankful that we still serve a God who has everything under His control. Pray with us that He will open the doors to greater opportunity to minister in the nursing homes in the coming year while there is still time.

Pastor
Norm Aabye

C.A.R.E. Ministries