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.”

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.”

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.

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.”.

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!

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.

“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.”

“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.”

Pray for these wonderful opportunities to keep saints encouraged and invite others to the saving knowledge of the Great Physician, Jesus!

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.

“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!”

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!