Our Journey of Hope
Our Journey of Hope® is a new, comprehensive program of lay ministry training, speaker series and ongoing support for you and your church. First the program will provide the critical training your congregants need for ministry. Then, it will help your lay ministers connect with cancer patients throughout your community – both churched and unchurched – who will benefit tremendously from the hope and help you can offer. Our Journey of Hope® is designed with the help of patients, leading cancer experts and spiritual advisors. It’s easy to implement. It’s powerful. And it’s free.
Our Journey of Hope® will help you and your lay ministers understand what patients are going through and will equip you with real, practical tools. You will learn new ways to:
- Reach out to cancer patients in your community and bring them into your fold.
- Support members of your church family who may encounter cancer, from diagnosis, throughout treatment and recovery.
- Build a cancer-care lay ministry, providing church members with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment.
- Educate your congregation about cancer prevention and detection, resulting in a healthier church community.
Not only can you and your church community make a difference in the well-being of current cancer patients, but you can also help fill the gap created by an increasingly overburdened healthcare system.
Our Journey of Hope® includes three key components which can be used to build your cancer-care ministry. Each may be tailored to the specific needs of your congregation.
Component 1: Lay Ministry Training
Our Journey of Hope® offers free lay ministry training and a comprehensive Lay Ministry Training kit. The training covers the following:
- Our Journey of Hope® mission, vision, and covenant
- Scientific research showing the impact of spirituality on health
- The Faith Factor
- Cancer – what it is and isn’t
- CTCA whole person philosophy of care
- Special needs of cancer patients
- What to say, what not to say
- Prayer and the cancer patient
- Fear, anger and control issues
- Testimony of a cancer survivor
- Do’s and don’ts of hospital visitation
- Creative care tips
- Prevention ideas
- Helpful Scriptures
- Resource readings
- Cancer fighting recipes
Component 2: Speaker Series
Connect with patients, both inside and outside your church, by holding three to four mini-seminars annually. Sample speaker topics include:
- The Art of Caregiving
- Forgiveness
- Hope and Healing
- Foods of the Bible
- The Faith Factor
Component 3: Facilitating Communication
CTCA works hard to provide patient updates to pastors and churches. When a congregant visits CTCA for treatments, with his or her permission, we can keep you abreast of their needs and condition. If a congregant is being treated at another facility, we can provide tips for facilitating communication with hospital employees and physicians.
Our goal at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® is to provide the best possible spiritual care for cancer patients and their families, and that includes serving spiritual leaders and congregations. Remember, Our Journey of Hope® is free and never involves any obligation on the part of yourself, your church or your members.
Take your first step in this journey and visit www.ourjourneyofhope.com to learn more.