by Chris Phillips

New Testament missions is evangelizing a people group, discipling them, training the God-called leaders, and leaving that group as an indigenous, self-reproducing organism. There are many methods that have been effective in realizing that goal, and we were blessed to have been a part of seeing medical missions used as an incredible tool to aid in planting a local church. In June of 2003, we had our first experience of providing free, quality medical care and pharmaceuticals to the needy just outside of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Larry Gaetano had contacted us earlier that year about hosting a small medical team. He had been on three other missions trips and wanted to do one in the Santo Domingo area. We had never given much thought to medical missions until he contacted us. We began to gather information and advice from other missionaries who had been involved in hosting a medical missions group.

We quickly found out that it would involve many hours of planning and organizing in order to be successful in meeting the medical needs of the people, as well as the spiritual. After months of preparation for this one week, we were finally ready. We did not know what to expect, but we did know that we did not want to waste this unique opportunity to minister to such a large group of people. We wanted to make sure that all were given one-on-one attention to meet their spiritual needs just as they received the personal attention to meet their health needs. We were not emotionally prepared for what happened. Every morning, people would begin to gather at the front gate of our property as early as 6:00 am. We would organize the masses of people that had come for help. There were elderly, infants, and people with deformed hands, ears and feet. Pregnant teenage girls were treated daily, some as young as 13 years of age. There were hundreds more than we could have treated, thus we were forced to choose the most serious cases. As we saw the desperate looks of those pushing for a chance to see the doctor, I was struck with the thought that this is exactly what Jesus did every day of his ministry on earth.

“And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them” (Matthew 15:30).

Some of the patients we saw just needed medicine, and others just wanted eye exams. However, the majority needed to be seen by a doctor. After we organized the people, they began to pass through the gate on their way to the triage station. Upon their entering the gate, a red sticker would be placed on their shoulders and they would then continue on to the triage to be registered by an RN. One of our workers would walk each person to a hub area where each were given a number for an appointment to see a doctor. While waiting to see the doctor, these people were entertained hourly by puppet shows, crafts, and games. After being seen by the doctor, they would go to a small pharmacy area to receive any necessary medication. On their way out, the final station was a quiet area where a trained worker would offer spiritual counsel. After being dealt with, the red sticker would be removed to indicate to our workers that that person had passed through the evangelism station. No one over the age of 16 left the property without being offered the chance to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel. The first year we were shocked at the results. Of the 500 plus that came for medical treatment, 91 received Christ as Savior. At that time, we only had a couple of Bible studies and we were not planning to organize a church. However, we were responsible for these new converts; therefore, it was obvious that God was leading us to form one. We baptized our first members and began discipling the new converts.

We were so excited over the results of the medical week that we wanted to try to improve the following year. One year later, some of the same converts that were saved in 2003, took part in evangelizing others during our second medical week in June of 2004. During that week, these year-old Christians were able to lead their first souls to the Lord. Of the 1,210 that came for medical treatment this year, 203 made professions of faith. We have address information on each of them and are in the process of enrolling them in a discipleship course with the goal of baptizing many of them into our local church. This tool of medical missions has enabled us in just one year to watch the process of evangelism, discipleship, spiritual training, and spiritual reproduction take place. These new soul winners will themselves be doing much of the follow-up and discipling. If we had not been here to experience this personally, we probably would not have believed it. It was one of the most exhausting weeks we have ever experienced, but also one of the most fulfilling and rewarding. One of the reasons for the success of these two weeks has been the 50 plus workers who took part over the past two years.

We would like to thank Dr. Larry Gaetano and his medical teams from Faith Baptist Church in Tom’s River, NJ, and the medical team from Grace Baptist Church in West Columbia, SC. We would also like to thank the youth groups from Temple Baptist Church in Herndon, VA, and Grace Baptist Church in West Columbia, SC, for their hard work and servant spirits. Along with our family and the Mike Doering family, several missionaries have also had a large part in helping translate and evangelize. Paul and Marilyn Woody, Woody and Shari Baughman, and Rolando Cruz all gave of themselves to help these people. Thousands of dollars worth of medicine have been provided by Faith Baptist Church in Tom’s River, NJ, and Grace Baptist Church in West Columbia, SC. Our hearts are full of praise to God for allowing us to see Him work in such a wonderful way. If you would like more information on how a medical missions week could help in church planting efforts, feel free to contact BIMI for more information.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jonathon & Mandy Crews -  BRAZIL
Joel C & Brooke Daku -  KIRIBATI
Paul W & Martha Daku -  FIJI ISLANDS