A beautiful way the church can give the gift of service is to have a team of individuals help with household chores like mowing the lawn, retrieving the mail, and tidying up the house. And because the church knows the power of prayer, conducting a prayer vigil for the family could be a wonderful way to spiritually serve those navigating a season of suffering.
The Gift of Community
Navigating a child’s medical crisis can feel very isolating. We felt ill-equipped as we were thrown into a completely foreign medical environment. We didn’t have any friends or family to lean on who had walked through something similar, so the experience was overwhelming and intimidating.
Because God made us for community, connecting families with other families who know the same pain can be incredibly beneficial. When people with similar experiences get together, there is an opportunity for the veterans to comfort others as God comforted them. There is an opportunity for them to pour into families at a time when they might just feel spiritually spent.
One way the church can give the gift of community is by connecting families with a nonprofit organization like Praying Through Ministries that can come alongside them. Having worked on staff at my local church for over a year, I’m fully aware of the demands of ministry. Though we might want to do all the things and do them well, we simply can’t. We can, however, lean on organizations that specialize in areas where our church body could use support.
Since, by the time the church learns of a family’s medical crisis, it’s too late to prepare, the church needs to plan ahead with how it will respond. The practical ways listed above will equip the church to love and actively support families when medical emergencies arise.