The
Net Works!
It
has been a struggle to get a newsletter out these days, but stopping
to tell His stories is important. We value your support and the
connection you have with this ministry, so we want to stay
accountable to those who have chosen to invest time, prayer, and
monetary blessings into our mission. In this newsletter, we thought
you might like to hear directly from some of the individuals to whom
we have developed a partnering relationship. For years we have
conducted various meetings and events for the purpose of connecting
different ministry partners with various churches and ministry
leaders. The goal was to foster the development of effective
co-laboring relationships. It was a clear vision given to Tom that
directly followed the birthing of Jesus Cares Ministries. It was a
vision to connect the body in a way that would bring strength and
longevity to our callings and to demonstrate in Word and deed that
Jesus Cares. We believe that though it seems harder at first and a
bit time consuming to develop lasting partnerships, in the long run,
it makes for more fruit bearing. The fact is we are supposed to be
BETTER TOGETHER!
“Your
people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on
the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the
walls, who restored the ruined house.” -Isaiah
58:12
We
don't have to look too far to see ruins in this nation. Not
necessarily physical ruins but an epidemic of devastated hearts,
lives, marriages, and families. We have something to build and we are
stronger together. We are called to be modern day Nehemiahs.
Rebuilding the rubble seems a bit daunting at times and those who are
building may feel relentlessly attacked with various distractions to
that calling. Nehemiah instructed the men to blow the trumpet and
rally the troops at the place of the attack.
“In
the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.
Our God will fight for us.” -Nehemiah
4:20
It
seems at times that we at Jesus Cares Ministries are strategically
placed to rally with those who need encouragement for the battles
they are facing, especially those who are actively building in the
Kingdom. Please enjoy these testimonies from those who have
experienced a special strength and encouragement from the mission of
Jesus Cares. Please know that you are a part of this planting and
that we can all rejoice at the beautiful fruit that has come from
these partnerships.
Local
Communities
Wellsprings
Therapy Center: restoring Hope to those facing the
uphill battle of recovery...
You
don't have to be there long before you realize that The
Wellsprings Therapy Center has many “battle fatigued”
residents in need of encouragement. After a long lapse of having to
put ministry to the aged on the shelf, a door was opened at this
facility about 7 years ago. We enjoyed the opportunity to minister
spiritual nuggets to those in the process of rebuilding their bodies.
The recovery from various ailments, surgeries, and accidents can be
an uphill battle for some of them. Pastor Jeff and Jackie accepted
the oversight of this ministry and it has been a complete joy to see
how their faithfulness is bringing restoration and rest to the weary.
They are connecting with residents who in some cases, see no hope of
rebuilding their lives. The despair can be all-consuming. The pain
and struggles they are experiencing become the “trumpet” sound
crying out for help in the midst of their present difficulties.
“My
husband, Jeff Chamberlain, and I have had the privilege of being the
Chaplains under JCM at Wellsprings Therapy Center for over the past
two years. Our weekly Sunday service consists of worship, sharing the
Word, and prayer. We also pray in the rooms with those individuals
who are unable to join us for the service. Whether it be one or ten
who attend, we are blessed and humbled to be used by the Lord at this
care facility, where Tom and Doreen began before us, taught us, then
passed the torch along to us.”.

Please continue to pray as Jeff and Jackie sow seeds to restore hope. Wellsprings
Meet and Greet: Pray also for a team composed of
compassionate moms and a special brigade of little warriors. They
visit each month to help the residents fight their battles with songs
of praise to the Lord, hugs, gifts, and lots of love!
Heeding
the Call at Val Vista Center
It's
been about 4 years since Duane Wilson had a dream about riding in a
bus with elderly individuals. They were looking for someone who would
lead/pastor/speak to them and they all turned and looked at him. His
wife had an impression that he was the driver of the bus and that
just like people get off and on busses to get to their destination,
so Duane would journey for a season with some of these individuals
who would be getting off at their “stops.” Then we announced in
our church that we needed someone to take over the chaplaincy of this
newly opened door. Duane knew it was his time to step forward and
take the wheel. He has been doing an excellent job pastoring the
flock at the Center ever since he heard our cry for help.
The
following comments speak of the fruits of this mission.
“For
six weeks in April-May of 2019 I was a patient at the Center of Val
Vista in Gilbert, AZ. I was able to attend all six of the services
provided by Duane Wilson. He is a joy and his enthusiasm for the Lord
and warm spirit made this a highlight of the week. My wife was able
to attend 5 of the 6 Sundays. We enjoyed the music and opportunity to
sing,and the devotional messages that Duane brought each week. His
love for the Lord and warm heart for people made us feel very
welcome. He gave opportunity each week to pray for the concerns of
the attenders. We certainly appreciated that these services were
available to minister to our spirit. Sadly when I transferred to a
facility in WA state there was no such services available and no
Duane to lead them. Thank you for your sacrificial giving of your
time and giftings.” -
from
a former pastor and resident of Val Vista Center
“We
are very happy to have you in our building so our patients can still
take part in church service. Thank you for choosing our community to
come and praise the LORD.” - activity
director at Val Vista Center
Pray
for these wonderful opportunities to keep saints encouraged and
invite others to the saving knowledge of the Great Physician, Jesus! Hope
For Addiction - fighting
the battle for recovery
Liz
Beck is the founder of this ministry. They are offering training and
partnership with congregations nationwide to provide a gospel
centered program offering hope to those facing the fierce battle of
breaking free from addictions. The building and restoring necessary
after such an aftermath of destruction takes many courageous hands
and hearts. Many times, the laborers involved in this kind of
rebuilding can feel lonely, misunderstood and as weary as Nehemiah
felt as he faced the rubble of a broken kingdom. We are grateful to
join them in this venture in helping to directly influence the lives
of women who are seeking refuge at Freedom House, a small community
of women who are on the other side of this battle and needing to
rebuild the ruins. Our parenting program and the tools we can offer
them from having run a group home for women for over 35 years are
helping to relieve some of the battle fatigue they face in this vital
mission.
Liz,
Founder Tracey, Freedom House Director
“Hope
for Addiction is beyond grateful for our partnership with JCM! As we
care for the single moms and their kids in Freedom House, having the
experience and wisdom of JCM has made our ministry more effective.
Working with like-minded ministries for the cause of Christ allows us
to make a life-long difference in the lives of families struggling to
rebuild. Thank you for laboring with us, for standing with us and for
being such an amazing encouragement to both staff and residents at
Freedom House. We love and appreciate you!”
Communities
Abroad
Elpis:
ruined lives rebuilt by the hope of redemption
Many
of you know that the mission field, wherever it is located, is a
battle ground for the souls of men. Isabella will be going to one of
the most highly sex trafficked cities in the world to a continent
that has become the primary destination for trafficking in the world
today: Eastern Europe. We are so privileged to partner with her in
this venture. She is still ministering to vulnerable Romanian girls
and will now be expanding her mission to Bulgaria.

Partnering
with Elpis – Isabella's Vision
“Entrapment,
intimidation and fear are what trafficking is built on, stripping
victims of their dignity and humanity. Elpis (meaning “living with
hope” in Greek) is a ministry/mission birthed out of Isaiah 61:1-3,
to go to the broken and free the captives by connecting hearts to the
love of Jesus. The vision of Elpis
is to rescue and restore hope to survivors by coming alongside and
connecting them to the love of Jesus and reminding them of their true
value. Our heart is to see girls overcome and become whole, embracing
the life of abundance Jesus died to give us. Our vision is birthed
from and built on the power and hope of the gospel, believing
redemption is always possible through Jesus.”
Together-Working
with Others
“Over
the past few years of training and working with survivors and
entering such broken situations, I quickly came to realize that this
is not something I can do alone. Only through the body of Christ can
this be made possible, working together to bring the wholeness of God
into such brokenness. I am merely a piece of this grander call that
is far beyond any individual. I am so grateful for the gracious ways
the Father has provided for every detail and surrounded me with those
who have gone before me, primarily Jesus Cares Ministries. They
have taken me under their wings, counseling, equipping, instilling
wisdom and insight from years of experience. I am learning first hand
from them how to better reach and help these girls. They are
financially covering me, prayerfully covering me and connecting me
with others who are helping to make this vision possible. It truly
brings me to tears. Years I would cry as these girls were so heavily
on my heart, not knowing how to reach them; now I look back and see
each step of simple obedience and surrendering to Jesus resulted in
His abundant provision in every way! There is no lack in God's
kingdom!
The Lord has made Elpis possible through JCM and each of YOU. I am so
privileged to share a part in God's beautiful story of redemption
through the body of Christ where the wholeness of God can be
encountered and received! We're all in this together!”
Back
to the Home front
We
have had the joy of seeing prodigals return; connections made between
ministries to form a bigger net to catch fish; hearts healed; minds
renewed; and hope arise. It is difficult at times to see the failure
and pain that results from poor choices. Battle fatigued saints are
always tempted to shrink back and that is when we need to remember
that we are Better Together.
We
are grateful for 3 women that have come forward to plug into some
training and studies that will make our team of women even more able
to reach out locally to the broken. It takes time to make
investments. Jesus modeled it, we follow it, lives change as a result
of it!
Ways
we are rebuilding...
“A
Confident Heart” study
Many
of the women that we work with are intimidated by the words of men
and allow those voices to choke out the Word of God. We help them to
identify the voice of the Father by understanding His character and
nature and distinguishing His voice from the lies that have bombarded
them. It is not unlike the challenge that Joshua faced when most of
the 12 spies decided to trump God's favor and promises with the
threat of the giants. We are combining women in need with women who
have been helped through the ministry of Jesus Cares. Our hope is to
encourage women to step out and begin to share the tools that have
rebuilt their lives. Forgiveness is a powerful weapon and so is
prayer, the meditation and engrafting of Scriptures, and the
realization of our Lord's death, burial and resurrection. As they
step out and share His story of redemption we are weaving a community
of believers that will be better together as they rebuild the ancient
ruins.
Mentoring,
Counseling, Discipleship - Helping
others, help others Prodigals,
prisoners, perpetrators, victims and new converts are receiving help
from Jesus Cares. Thanks to all of you, we are able to help those who
would otherwise slip through the cracks as many of them do not have
the resources to pursue healing. Some have been too ashamed to
revisit their past and so hurts and wounds have had years to fester.
We surely need your prayers as we reach out. A prisoner that we
brought to the Lord many years ago is starting a beautiful revival in
prison. More on that next newsletter! Trauma
series – Several
women are receiving training on how to walk with those who have been
assaulted by various experiences in their past. Jesus stepped out of
glory in order to enter into our trauma. How do we follow Jesus in
this? Those are some of the questions we wrestle with when helping
others. We certainly don't have all the answers, but the Word of God
does give us many examples of those coming out of darkness and
tragedies. We are thankful for those who are willing to be equipped
to face the ruins of our society, one individual at a time.
October
conference 2019 -
How far do we go in this rebuilding process? When do we let go? How
do we demonstrate His love to those who seem to have incurable
wounds? How have we been equipped to do this task of rebuilding
ancient ruins? We are joining with Suzanne from Bridgeway Community
Church to challenge those whose hearts are stirred up, like in
Nehemiah's day to rebuild the waste places!
“Then
the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the
Levites—all those whose mind God had stirred—got ready to go up
in order to build the temple of the Lord
in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:5
We
cannot be more grateful every day for the supporters and prayer
warriors who make this ministry possible. We all have a part in this
rebuilding of temples. As we all purpose to invest in individual
lives - families, cites, villages and even nations can change for His
glory!
Jesus
Cares
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