Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Thank you so much for your friendship toward this humble mission ministry to the long-term care population in the United States. Your support, especially in prayer, and also in finances are a great encouragement to us. God answers prayer!
As we reflect over the years of our involvement in nursing home ministry many faces scroll across our minds: happy faces, sad faces, young faces, elderly faces, healthy faces, suffering faces…to name a few. What a blessing it is to imagine the untold numbers of lives into which our little ministry has sown the Word of God. Indeed, all our resources, tools, and materials have been developed and produced and distributed with a Christ-centered, Christian ministry focus. And these materials are being used in retirement homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes all over our great country!
We are profoundly aware that the impact of our Christian resources is not felt in the lives of nursing home residents alone. Consider for a minute what this means in the course of a typical care center “church service.” The residents in attendance are often accompanied by a family member, a friend, or a personal attendant. Additionally, it is not unusual for staff members to stop by in their busy day, attracted by the message in the melody they hear, or the love and truth they sense in the voice of the speaker.
These spectators and participants in a typical nursing home service reflect the spectrum of spiritual conditions and levels of Christian maturity. In this day and time, some have never heard a sincere invitation to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Some have been avid “church goers” for years but now find their faith weak and faltering, or even absent, in the face of their declining health. Some do not consider themselves useful any more in the service of our Lord, feeling discarded and ignored. Some faithful saints bring a hunger and thirst for more of Jesus to the service that permeates the room with an air of God’s presence. All of these souls are treasured and loved by our Lord.
Oh, dear friends, many nursing home ministers know full well the impact God brings to a service as He manifests Himself to His precious “little ones.” As they sing “Amazing Grace” and as they listen to the “old, old story” one more time, it is not unusual for their hearts to burst out with praise and adoration and thanksgiving and genuine, effusive love for their Lord and Savior! They just cannot contain it and hold it in! We have seen it time and time again. God shows up in nursing home services!
This is why we send out our large-print hymn booklets, our scripture booklets, our music CDs and DVDs for use in long-term care ministry. This is why we make available for downloading from our website a Christian coloring book, Bible word search puzzles, Scripture cross-word puzzles, worship service programs, long-term care devotionals, giant-print hymn and scripture materials, and .MP3s of all the music in our hymn booklets. And more.
We never ask for payment for our materials. We can’t put a price on the privilege we have been given to place these deeply meaningful, favorite hymns in the hands of the little elderly lady sitting alone in the dim light of her room, singing “Blessed Assurance” with tears streaming down her cheeks. Please know that your intercession for this mission is a blessing to many! We thank you and we pray the Lord bless you for your kindness!
Love in Christ, Jerry and Dar Johnson