fbpx

Why Medical Clinics

You may ask, “How does God use a medical clinic to win people to Christ?” I would answer, that is actually a great question.

Mike Ray, our International Mission Board (IMB) missionary to Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine would answer that it’s been the most effective way to reaching adults. The key word there is adults, one of the hardest groups to reach. He even would go as far to say that our team was the hook when going fishing for men.

Dr.Lee Franklin with his interpreter Veronika Moskovenko talk with a patient about her medical issues.
Dr.Lee Franklin with his interpreter Veronika Moskovenko talk with a patient about her medical issues.

Medical clinics aren’t the only things our missionaries are doing. They run vacation bible schools each summer, sports camps, help to plant churches and build one on one relationships with people throughout the region. The medical mission clinic though is very specific in meeting the needs of a large group  of adults at one time.

Here’s how it works. A group of Americans comes in, like we did, each with specific jobs. In our group we had a doctor, a pharmacist and a nurse. Along with them were a group of people who supported them in other positions such as evangelism, helping with reading glasses, or even myself who was there to tell the story.

People from the local church sharing the Gospel with those attending the free medical clinic.
People from the local church sharing the Gospel with those attending the free medical clinic.

Our IMB missionaries worked with local churches to set up free clinics in areas of needs. The churches were responsible for canvassing the area to make sure the local people knew we were coming. Even while we were working, individuals from the churches were walking door to door in the community inviting others to come.

Once they arrived at the clinic their basic contact information was obtained along with what need they had. One of the people from the church then met with the person one on one to get to know them better and share the Gospel with them. From there their weight and blood pressure was taken by our nurse. The next visit was to either one or both of the clinics for reading glassed to improve their vision or a visit with the doctor.

On the first day of clinics that was held in an apartment complex in Dnipropetrovsk, Igor was our on site contact. Igor worked with the Central Baptist Church in town and was the lead church planter in this area. I was able to grab him for a few moments to hear from him on why the medical clinics were so important: