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Making disciples in healthcare. It’s what we do. The Great Commission gives us the command to both “go” and “make disciples of all nations.” (Matt 28:19-20).

Although the going part seems to have gotten easier with advanced technologies, we still are faced with the enormous challenge of “making disciples” in healthcare. This is where we need to speak this verse back to God in prayer to Him. By doing this, we can ask the Lord to equip us for ministry opportunities in our daily routines with our staff and patients. The very heart cry of our prayer needs to be a profound desire of needing His Holy Spirit to move. As this happens, we pray that we would be sensitive to opportunities for sowing the seed of the Gospel message as they fall into our laps…and they will. Know this too, your colleagues in Central Indiana CMDA have got your back and want to provide you with the resources you need to be successful. Check out our previous blog articles as well as CMDA Grace Prescriptions and catch the vision for your practice!

As I have had discussions with colleagues and students in training, many are passionate about learning how to more effectively live out their faith in healthcare. Recently, I asked Evan Thayer, a 3rd year medical student from IU, to write about his experience with me as we worked together to “cast a vision” for what this would look like in his routine as a student:

“In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter exhorts the believer’s scattered throughout Asia Minor and the rest of the Roman world to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that they have in Jesus Christ. Participating in “Vision Casting” with Dr. Andy Koon has been such an excellent opportunity to do more effectively share his hope and encourage patients in their spiritual lives. During our videoconference sessions, we took the time discuss how to better provide for the spiritual needs of our patients. Taking the opportunity to practice sharing my faith and taking a spiritual history via the Google hangout time has resulted in a great intentionality in focusing of the spiritual lives of my patients and this intentionality and God’s grace has resulted into several opportunities to talk and pray with patients in a patient affirming manner. I now have a much better appreciation of the valuable result of investing time and effort in more effectively share the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As I begin to complete my third year of medical school, I marvel at the vast amount of material that I have had the opportunity to learn over the past three years in school and how the factual knowledge I have learned in medical school can be translated into care that positively affect change for the rest of someone’s life. Similarly, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we have the incredible opportunity to take the truth of the gospel to help affect change in our patients’ lives for eternity. Through our time in “Vision Casting” I also received encouragement to be more active in praying for my patients has significantly changed my perspective towards them and the medical care I can provide. As I have begun to pray for my patients, I have been amazed at how many opportunities the Lord has provided to encourage them and share Jesus Christ in a way that encourages a greater awareness of the spiritual aspect of their lives. I’m truly amazed how many positive experiences I’ve had as patients have shown appreciation for me asking about their beliefs and spiritual lives. Most, if not all, of the patients I’ve had the opportunity to speak with have had spiritual beliefs that affect not only the way that they approach healthcare as a whole but the opportunity to discuss these beliefs with them has enabled them to better understanding how the quality of their spiritual and physical lives are related. “Vision Casting” has been such a valuable experience and I’m looking forward to partnering with other Christian student-physicians as we train not only to provide more effective physical care but also more effectively tell others of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.”

 Evan and I look forward to providing a resource in the future that is helpful to students so that others can benefit from our experiences. We hope to share this in a future blog as a focus on training others is how we will reach the nations.

 Prayer: Father in heaven, you have said in your Word that we are to “go and make disciples.” We can’t do this in our practice of healthcare without your presence. Bless us with the presence and power of your Holy Spirit to accomplish this task. Let us be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the staff and patients we serve today. Amen.