What people are saying about Journey in Grief Care
Journey in Grief Care Will Benefit your Church
From the Founder of Grief Care Fellowship, Doug Bagg and the Author and Instructor of the Journey in Grief Care curriculum, Francis Welch
“When I needed people the most, they were not there.”
These were the exact words of a lady in a good church in Maine whose husband had died 5 months before. This was a shocking statement from a woman who was loved and supported by her family and a host of friends. The problem was that they did not know how to care for her properly. After the death she was surrounded by family and friends, but when the funeral was over, they went back to their “normal” life. When she returns home there is no one there.
“Grief Care Fellowship is all about teaching people how to come alongside in a time of grief and to help people progress through grief”. Pastor Darwin Vail, Gray, ME
The ministry of comfort will be extended to the hurting after the funeral.
Because life can be incredibly busy, we seem to go about our daily tasks seemingly unaware that people around us are dying every single day. If it is not a relative or someone connected to the family, most of us do not take much notice. The pastor knows, because he is the one who usually gets the first call that someone has died.
A pastor in Connecticut was recently telling me that he already had a number of funerals last week and more coming this week. Another pastor in Ohio shared that over his many years at the church, he has had over 800 funerals. Another pastor in Maine received a call that a young man in their town, who had 3 children, had just committed suicide. This death was tragic, and even though he was not a member of this church. The people in the church are caring and bringing comfort to this family because they have taken the course, Journey In Grief Care, and they know what to do and what to say. One of the modules in the Journey in Grief Care covers suicide deaths and gives practical suggestions.
The church is the very best group to offer real help and comfort for the hurting because God’s people have the correct eternal prospective. Pastoral responsibilities demand much time and it is important to have a grief team equipped to carry on the comfort ministry both before and after the funeral is over and when most all the family and friends have left.
Start equipping the Saints with the training curriculum Journey In Grief Care.
This will tell you about the tools to accomplish this training. From this training course, you will then select a grief team that will be able to share in the comfort and care responsibilities of a person who has lost a loved one even after the funeral. This is a team to support the pastor. Then after the training, get the grief team together and decide on your program such as support group, events for those grieving, reaching out to those who do not attend your church. How your church is located (city, suburb, small town, rural) will play a large part in the type of care program you decide upon.
Many caring people in your church will now be aware and some will be activated into the ministry of comforting those who have lost a loved one.
Most Christians are caring. Most are well-meaning and want to help. Some are very gifted at bringing comfort to those who have lost a loved one. However, most do not always know how to help or what to say. Many are timid about approaching a person who has just lost a loved one because they are unsure of how to handle the situation.
Most hearts go out to the grieving. But the truth is that “well-meaning” just isn’t enough when it comes to helping a grieving soul. Grief is not like any other emotion. Grief permeates every fiber of your being. It hurts! It bushwhacks! It messes with your mind.
Now you can equip your people with the Journey in Grief Care training curriculum. This training has a huge potential for reaching out to church members and also the neighbors in the community who are grieving.
Involve the entire church in the process of the comfort ministry by offering them the opportunity to take the Journey In Grief Care training.