Answers to Your Questions

about

Love Your Neighbor Ministries

Q. Who is Love Your Neighbor Ministries?

A. Love Your Neighbor Ministries exists to reach out in compassion to people in the full range of health care settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, Hospice care and private homes. Our purpose, stated simply is "Equipping Churches for Ministries of Compassion." This ministry takes primarily three forms: first, our chaplains provide pastoral care in health care institutions; second, volunteers from local evangelical churches are trained for personal and group ministries--mainly to people in nursing and retirement homes; and third, we develop resources for training and equipping both our chaplains and volunteers and the general Christian public in issues related to aging and health care. Our immediate objective is to minister to the people who are facing health changes, but our ministry also includes their families and caregivers as well.

Q. Exactly HOW do you work with churches?

A. Our objective for the Volunteer ministry of Love Your Neighbor is to partner with local evangelical churches by training Christians to reach out to their own family members, to members of their congregation and to people beyond the "church walls" who are in nursing or retirement homes. The key to the success of this ministry in each local church is the Church Coordinator--an individual from that local church body who is trained to champion the ministry in their own church. Rather than asking people from your local church to join Love Your Neighbor, we ask for the opportunity for Love Your Neighbor to join your church, partnering with you in this specialized ministry.

Love Your Neighbor Chaplains are trained men and women who serve full or part-time providing pastoral care in health care institutions in the name of Christ. One way to describe our ministry is that we are, first of all, Christian; secondly, we are Protestant; and finally, we are Evangelical. However, because health care institutions are "pluralistic" in nature, our ministry must be "non-sectarian" in approach. We are committed to being sensitive to the faith backgrounds of each person we minister to. One of our objectives is to attempt to link each individual with his or her own local church pastor or denominational clergy, and with lay people from their own church community. The Chaplain is a resource for drawing the patient and his church together, where possible, but always stands ready to minister in the name of Christ at every opportunity. A primary purpose in both our chaplaincy and volunteer ministries is ministry that, as Jesus described it, is "a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name"--a compelling combination of both compassion and confession.

Q. What’s the history of your organization?

A. Love Your Neighbor Ministries was founded in 1975 in Tacoma, WA. Rev. Dwight Kinman, our founder, was a hospital chaplain, but shortly after beginning this ministry, he also became involved in ministry to people in nursing homes. His own personal ministry was multiplied as other chaplains joined Love Your Neighbor, and volunteers were recruited as Chaplain Kinman and his wife, Louise, traveled from church to church, challenging Christians about the opportunity and the need for ministry to people in nursing homes.

The Love Your Neighbor corporate office is located in Gresham, OR. Currently our volunteer ministries are focused in the Spokane area, but Love Your Neighbor chaplains are also currently ministering in the Seattle, Tacoma and Portland areas.

Q. How does your name "Love Your Neighbor" fit with what you do?

A. The Bible makes it clear that every person is our neighbor. That makes our neighbors a very important field of ministry. And, while our name is very broad--as broad as the world--the immediate focus of Love Your Neighbor’s ministry is our neighbors who are currently experiencing or potentially facing health changes and struggles and the decisions that accompany these situations.

Q. What is your doctrinal statement?

A. We’re an evangelical organization, and so our approach to ministry is from within the broader evangelical framework. Our statement of faith closely mirrors that of the National Association of Evangelicals. We would be happy to provide you with a copy.

Q. How is the ministry of Love Your Neighbor funded?

A. Love Your Neighbor is a non-profit, "faith" ministry, primarily funded through contributions from individuals, churches and other organizations. We are interdenominational and so have no specific denominational underwriting. Our trust is ultimately in the Lord for the supply of the resources needed for ministry.

Q. I’m really interested. How do I get involved?

A. Let us know which of the following three areas are of interest to you: 1) a chaplaincy ministry; 2) a volunteer ministry to residents in health care settings; and 3) a volunteer or staff ministry in our office. You can call or fax us at (503)491-1899. You can write to us at P.O. 1886 Gresham. OR 97030-0569 or Email us at daveclyn@comcast.net Be sure to provide us with your name, address and phone number, and we’ll get back in touch with you as soon as possible.