Longview effort helps extend pastoral care

By CAROLYN PROVENZOLA
CNNW intern reporter

   LONGVIEW, Wash.  -- Pastors are those who conscientiously choose to shepherd church flocks.  But sometimes the bleating "sheep" demand so much of pastors' time that they need trusted helpers to whom they can send the injured for care and healing.

   This is the assistance offered by a new ministry in Longview called The Pastoral Care Center.

   About 10 years ago, three churches in the Longview area merged to establish a new non-denominational church: The Father's House.  Within this congregation, church leaders recognized a need to minister to those who were deeply wounded emotionally and spiritually.  They responded to this need by forming Healing Deep Wounds Ministries (HDWM).

    This ministry was significantly influenced by the work of Charles Kraft, under whom one of The Father's House church leaders studied at Fuller Theological Seminary.  Through his influence, particularly through his book Deep Wounds, Deep Healing, HDWM was founded on the power of prayer to positively affect a hurting person.  This spiritual, prayerful focus is what set this counseling ministry apart from typical counseling programs.

    Although HDWM was originally intended to focus on the needs of the congregation at The Father's House, its reputation spread across the country.  People from several states, including North Carolina, Ohio, Minnesota, Texas, Idaho and Oregon, heard of the positive impact this ministry was having in people's lives, and the wounded began to flock to this ministry for healing.

    Besides the out-of-state interest, pastors in the Longview area also began to show interest in this ministry. Despite a variety of denomininational affiliations, these pastors held a unified desire to see this ministry develop further.  As interest in the ministry grew, it became clear that it would have to expand beyond the walls of The Father's House.

    Consequently, in June of this year The Pastoral Care Center was established as a ministry separate from The Father's House in order to carry on the work of HDWM.  The difference, though, was simply that The Pastoral Care Center was intentionally established to minister to wounded people beyond the walls of The Father's House congregation.  In fact, about 20 separate churches are supporting The Pastoral Care Center.  A July 2 article in The Daily News of Longview notes that this supporting group is composed of churches from Baptist, Lutheran, Nazarene, Assembly of God and Seventh-day Adventist backgrounds, as well as other independent churches.

    The counseling offered by The Pastoral Care Center is primarily focused on deep inner healing and families.  This includes marital counseling as well as a premarital counseling program, which offers 12 weeks of counseling prior to marriage and five years of follow-up counseling to strongly establish the marriage.

   Generally speaking, the counseling offered at The Pastoral Care Center is led by two prayer partners, who guide the wounded person through a spiritual assessment and time of deep prayer.

    For the ministry to stay afloat, the services offered by The Pastoral Care Center are fee-based.  However, these fees are decided according to a sliding scale, so that people with deep needs are not denied deep healing for lack of funds.

     Most of those working at The Pastoral Care Center are not professional counselors, but are trained volunteers from several of the supporting churches.  Because of this, clients who are confronting more serious issues, such as abuse, are encouraged to seek further counseling.

    Jim Bass, one of the founding pastors of The Father's House, is now the director of The Pastoral Care Center.  Although he has been involved in counseling for about 35 years, he says he has seen more help provided in three months of the deep healing offered at The Pastoral Care Cente than is normally accomplished in a couple of years of regular counseling.  He attributes this significant success rate to the value of prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives.

     As this new ministry looks to the future, those involved hope to see a serious positive impact made on the emotional health of the clients and on their family situations, particularly their marriages.  Bass commented, "We really are looking for transforming our community."

    For more information, phone 360-414-0292 or write to 1123 17th Ave., Longview, WA 98632.