Building on Faith
by Nancy Christie
(Editor's Note: This article appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of Cancer Fighters Thrive, www.cfthrive.com. It is reprinted here with permission.)
For those who have received a cancer diagnosis, a cancer ministry can provide invaluable support. As a faith-based resource, a cancer ministry offers comfort, community, and information from a spiritual perspective. “An effective cancer ministry will build life and hope in those it serves,” explains Lyn Thompson, spiritual outreach coordinator for pastoral care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “It empowers cancer patients and their family members to live to their maximum potential throughout their cancer journey, and it strengthens, encourages, accepts, and loves them as they walk through each step of this phase of their lives.”
A cancer ministry takes into account more than just spiritual needs, adds Rev. Michael Langham, director of pastoral care at CTCA in Tulsa. “Cancer has the potential to affect every area — physical, financial, mental, and emotional — of not only the cancer patient’s life but the lives of caregivers and family members as well. They all need help and support in each of these areas.”
Cancer ministries are an increasing presence in churches around the country, as more patients and loved ones realize the benefits they provide. Those who can’t find an existing cancer ministry in their area might consider developing their own.
Building an Effective Cancer Ministry
Each cancer ministry is unique and is structured to best serve the needs of its members. Some have monthly meetings, whereas others provide one-on-one support to a patient to meet specific needs. The format, says Thompson, “depends on your vision, the resources of your church, what you can realistically do, and what kind of leadership you provide.”
Amy Dodson, who together with Rick Davis founded the First Presbyterian Cancer Support Ministry in Tulsa, recommends that when building a program from the ground up, a good first step is to interview families who have gone through cancer or are currently receiving cancer treatment to learn what they need and what brings them comfort.
Thompson agrees that understanding the needs of your community and the goals of the ministry is an important first step. “You need to have an idea of what you want that ministry to impart or do and of how you want it to help cancer patients and their families.”
Once this background work has been completed, Dodson and Thompson both encourage those building a ministry to gain the support of church leadership and evaluate the resources available to make the vision a reality. “It becomes a combination of using what you have within the church and creating what is needed to support these families,” Dodson says. “When the areas of support are in place, a strong volunteer campaign will activate the process. The joy of giving is then combined with the blessing of receiving.”
Thompson also reminds anyone setting out to create this type of program that bigger is not always better, especially in the beginning. “Depending on what resources are available and who will come alongside you to do ministry, you may need to scale back your vision in the beginning and start small,” she says. “It would be better to do less but do it well than try to minister beyond the capabilities of the resources and the help that is available.” Dodson and Davis are using
this approach themselves: though they have a large committee working with them, they have chosen to phase in the offerings of the Cancer Support Ministry one portion at a time so they don’t get overwhelmed.
Building a sustainable ministry — one that can remain active even after its founders move on and through changes in volunteer efforts — is important. Putting the organization under the larger umbrella of an already established church-based ministry is one way to set leadership in place that will provide ongoing support. Ultimately, Thompson says, sustainable cancer ministries “are those that have a great vision and the means of passing that vision along so others can lead.”
Divine Inspiration
Looking to the inspiring work of existing effective cancer ministries is another good place to start for anyone thinking of launching a similar effort. A review of just a handful of these passionate projects makes clear both the broad scope of cancer ministry and the purpose that drives the various programs.
For Denny and Alaine Stevens, it was Alaine’s diagnosis of stage III breast cancer in 2003 that led to the founding of the Living Hope Foundation, a program of the Living Hope Fellowship church in Springfield, Missouri. The ministry brings in speakers who each address some aspect of cancer or related information, from innovative care to prevention and nutrition. “Our response to the comfort God has given us is to give comfort to others,” says Denny. “We felt that the Lord was leading us in this direction — to help those on the cancer journey, to bring hope, to befriend, to encourage, and to pray for them.”
John and Maria Lorick and their children also felt called to contribute to the cancer community. The family founded the Maria Lorick Heart of Hope Cancer Foundation, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, after Maria was diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian cancer in 2007 because, John says, “We didn’t want Maria’s illness to be a waste. [Instead, it could be a] way to reach out and touch other lives and help other people.”
Though Maria passed away in February 2010, the work of the foundation continues. The ministry has a three-part goal: to raise awareness about lifethreatening female cancers, to promote research for cancers for which there is no early-detection test or cure, and to establish a faith-based universal support system known as Journey Counselors, which will train cancer survivors to offer counsel, information, and inspiration to newly diagnosed cancer patients.
Dave and Debbe Turner also wanted to be able to offer support to patients. Their Maryland-based On Eagles Wings ministry was founded after Dave’s diagnosis of rectal cancer in 2005. “We felt compelled to reach out to others on the journey — to share God’s love by offering hope and compassion in a way that provides strength and well-being through our mutual trials and tribulations,” says Dave. In addition to providing baskets of items for cancer patients (called HOPE baskets), the ministry offers seminars through CTCA twice a year at their church and plans special events for churches, support groups, and friends.
For ordained minister and cancer survivor Rev. Ken Curtis, the call to give back developed into a unique ministry utilizing his film production company. “God has wonderfully spared my life,” Curtis explains, “and I began challenging our company, Gateway Films/Vision Video, to provide cancer-related programs as an offering of thanks to God for what He’s done in sparing me and to offer hope to cancer patients.” The result of Curtis’s efforts has been an award-winning film series for cancer patients and their families based on familiar biblical texts.
Pay It Forward
Participating in a cancer ministry — whether as a support group, with one-on-one counseling, or through a media presentation — reminds patients that they are not alone. “There’s camaraderie there,” says Langham. “Not only will they be encouraged and strengthened by the other people attending the cancer ministry group, but very soon they will realize they can give back to others themselves. And it’s very empowering for anyone, let alone a cancer patient, to feel like their life still has value and worth and they can still make a difference in someone else’s life even though they are going through a traumatic time in their own life."