Approaching Church Leaders About Chronic Illness Support
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Because I have been in pastoral and preaching ministry for over twenty years and have experience with chronic illness ministry, I was approached by another chronic illness ministry leader (Sara Willoughby from Diamonds Conference) about how we could help churches better minister to their chronically ill members. Since I live on both sides of that aisle, so to speak, Sarah sought my input. I don’t have all the answers, but I want to share a few thoughts about how you might approach your church leaders with these concerns.
First, I need to confess that I had no special heart or interest in this area of ministry before I had to deal with it personally. I don’t think I was cold, but I wasn’t a champion for the chronically ill. Hurting Christians are struggling to find their place in churches that seem all too ready to leave them behind. Even now–as a person who started and led a chronic illness ministry for over six years–I still struggle with this dilemma from the pastoral perspective.
Pastors and other church leaders are too busy. It takes an intentional effort to get their attention and to convince them that your concern should be a priority. Some of the problems can be laid at the feet of our consumeristic and production-obsessed culture. We too easily believe the lies that attendance, programs, and money are what really matters. Sadly, some church leaders defend this triumphalistic model of the church, and you won’t be able to get anywhere with them. In such a case, it could be that God is leading you to a different faith community.
However, some church leaders will listen if someone brings the matter of their chronically ill members to their attention. Sara and I discussed how the chronically ill member who feels overlooked should approach her church leadership. Coming from my perspective as both a church leader and someone who understands this issue well, here are a few things to keep in mind that might be helpful.
- What Do You Hope to Accomplish?
In any meeting with church leaders, you want to have a clear purpose and understanding of what you want to accomplish. You need to be able to complete the sentence, “I want to talk with you about this because…” You likely feel that hurting people are overlooked in some way. While you want to try to get the church leader(s) to see that, then what?
Do you want your church to be more aware of the needs of the chronically ill? Are they included in prayer ministries? Do you want to make sure that people who can’t come to church due to chronic illness are still visited and checked in on? Are you concerned that your church stopped streaming (or has low-quality streaming) and people who struggle to make in-person gatherings are being neglected?
Or maybe your goal is some combination of those things, and you want an active chronic illness ministry such as a support group. Church leaders need the reminder that God wants to use chronically ill ministers in powerful ways. Remind them that God does not choose our strength to demonstrate his power but rather our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). Whatever it is you seek, know your own mind well and articulate it respectfully and directly.
- 2. Why the Church Needs You
This is not just a matter of a church failing to meet the needs of its chronically ill members, and your requests are not just for them but for the whole church. The church needs its chronically ill members because it cannot be healthy when it ignores the hurting. I would appeal to the aforementioned passage from 2 Cor. 12 because the chronically ill have a lot to offer the church through how they have discovered the truth in God’s declaration to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Healthy people may be reliant on their own strength and are apt to forget this crucial truth.
I would also appeal to 1 Cor. 12. The whole chapter is relevant, but verse 26 hits the nail on the head, “So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” The point is not that the chronically ill members need the church, but that we all need each other, period. I believe it is okay to remind people who know the Bible well, maybe even better than you, of how important these passages are to you. (Not to mention, Jesus’ ministry shows his heart for the hurting was a priority to him).
- 3. Next Steps
A good friend told me today while we were considering a big undertaking, “You can’t eat a whole elephant in a day!” The metaphor is not all that appetizing to me, but it communicates an important truth! Perhaps, you pick one goal that you would like to see your church take action on and agree to meet again in six months.
For example, maybe your first concern is how chronically ill members are getting left off the prayer list (or just becomes a list of names that most people never read). So, your goal is to come up with a plan for these people like yourself to be prayed over in a meaningful and consistent way.
Perhaps, you want to see this develop into a full visitation program or an ongoing support group ministry, but you decide not to hit your overwhelmed church leadership with everything at once. You can discuss the next step the next time you meet. Until then, when people start praying for the chronically ill, the hearts of those praying will begin to change as well.
One final consideration is that you don’t want to make the overwhelmed church leaders feel like you are giving them more work to do. You are looking for their direction and blessing more than their manpower, but they can help connect you with others (like the leader of your prayer ministry or the visitation leader, etc.). Also, there are a lot of ministries—like Broken and Mended—who will gladly partner with these churches to help minister to the chronically ill in the church and your community (this is an outreach concern as well). Your church leaders don’t have to be the experts, but they, and you, can partner with those who are especially called to this kind of important ministry. Feel free to reach out to me if I can help you with this in any way.
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David Heflin
David Heflin is the founder, former president, and current executive director for Broken and Mended. He is married to Katie and has three kids. David was a preacher for over 20 years until he stepped down to focus fully on the mission of Broken and Mended. He started Broken and Mended in 2018 after being inspired by his own battle with chronic pain to connect other hurting people to Jesus and each other. David has a B.A. in Bible from Oklahoma Christian University and a Master of Arts in Religion from Azusa Pacific University. He resides in Woodward, OK.
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