Biblical Directive Two:
Sharing the grace we've been given - unconditionally.

 

"But when He heard this He said, 'It is not those who
are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
But go and learn what this means, "I desire compassion,
and not sacrifice," for I did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners." Matthew 9:12-13.

 

"And He called the twelve together, and gave them power
and authority over all demons, and to heal diseases. And
He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to
perform healing... the multitudes were aware of this and
followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking
to them about the kingdom of God and curing those
who had need of healing." Luke 9:1-2, 11.

 

"The God who made the world and all things in it, since
He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples
made with hands; neither is He served by human hands,
as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to
all life and breath and all things; and He made from one,
every nation of mankind to live on all the faces of the earth,
having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries
of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far
from each of us; for in Him we live and move and exist..."
Acts 17:24-28

The early Christian Church thrived and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ from its birthplace in Jerusalem to the outer reaches of the Roman Empire and beyond in less than three centuries. This was possible because the Church is a living organism made up of people living out their faith in spirit and truth, within the context of everyday life around them. Christians are called out into the world, not only to be different, but to make a difference for Christ. The early church modeled this with unity and purpose, while suffering persecution at all levels of society. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church grew because it was real in sharing the love of Christ in the community around them, working out of their own homes and spreading into the homes of new believers. All of Paul's letters are written to help instruct groups of people trying to live together as one body of faith. Sharing all things in common, from the lowest to the wealthiest in society, they ate together, prayed for one another, studied the words of the Apostles, performed miracles of healing and caring, by providing for those in need around them ; the elderly, poor, sick, hungry, naked and imprisoned. They grew... house to house.

Jesus Christ provided everything we need to be the 'Living body of Christ' in our world. His example was to love unconditionally one person at a time, wherever He met them and brought the truth of God's love and power to heal spiritually, and sometimes physically. No where did He ask anything of them before He healed them, other than to acknowledge the truth of their present circumstances in life. He sought out the weakest of us - the blind, the lame, the hungry, those under the dominion of evil, children and often women (in a culture that saw women as property), in order to reveal His power for salvation to those already aware of their need of God. Jesus went into the homes of people recognized as sinners, by those who thought that they were not, to reveal this truth about us:

 

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.

 

The church today has given up on its priviledge and purpose of accepting invitations into the homes of those most in need of a relationship with Jesus, by closing their community of faith off behind church walls, and asking those in need of healing to come into their 'safe world' to meet their standards, before offering to them what God has freely given to all who seek Him. Directive Two is the most important aspect of the ministries which we offer to our broken world. Here, we want to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our homes and in our global community, as a church without walls. This is a comprehensive approach for us individually, and corporately as an association, committed to the belief that:

 

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst." - Matt. 18:20.

Though we are small in number for our staff and Board of Trustees, we have all experienced what Jesus can accomplish through His weakest servants ready to serve Him. We offer in our homes, over the Internet and wherever the Lord leads us, the presence of Jesus Christ through our Pastoral Counseling ministry. Just as Jesus came to seek and save the lost, we too have focused most of our time toward ministering to people who have been broken by severe, ritual abuses such as; Satanic Ritual Abuse, Clergy Abuse, Sexual Abuse, and are suffering the oppression of evil controlling their lives. Many suffer from Post Traumatic Stress, Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD) and sometimes from demonic influences and/or possession. We will offer this ministry free, for as long as we are able to with the Lord's blessings.

 

In conjunction with this ministry we have started Shepherds Care Publishing to produce books (like our Shattered People series) and literature to assist survivors in their quest for healing. Our books offer the truth about God's unconditional love and power to heal, through the telling of true life stories from people broken by evil and separated from the truth about God; and how God comes to them in Jesus Christ in their real life situations to bring hope and healing. These books are offered to care-givers and professionals who treat these loved ones in our midst, as an extension of our Pastoral Counseling ministry, and are free to survivors and care-givers who cannot otherwise afford them. The following is a partial list of opportunities we offer:

 

1. Provide opportunities for individuals to join us in worship,
prayer and teaching from the Scriptures at appointed times
in our homes or theirs, or wherever the Lord leads us. This
also can occur through our website's virtual church in our
community chat rooms, as group counseling that is safe and
provides individual privacy.

- Acts 2:42-47.

2. Respond to the needs of individuals who don't know the
truth about Jesus Christ, or the unconditional love of God,
or had it withheld from them by their abusers - many of
whom came to them in the name of God; through any
methods available to us like over the Internet, by email or
phone, personal visits or in-house care at our facility, to
provide Christian counseling and encouragement for hope
and healing from God.

- Ezekiel 34:7-22; Matthew 10:7-14;
Luke 10:29-37; Acts 16:32-34.

3. Offer our services of teaching, preaching, counseling,
prayer,care-giving and educational literature to assist anyone
publicly or privately, who are seeking to help others toward a
healing relationship with Jesus Christ. We also provide training
and mentoring in the areas of Spiritual Warfare, Spiritual Healing,
Use of Spiritual Gifts and in Deliverance Ministries.

- Acts 4:12; Ephesians 4:12-16.