Social Healing in the Community

Abstract by Terry D. Shaw

"Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Freely you have received; freely give." Matthew 10:1,8 NIV

Christ's healing ministry was embodied in the power and personhood of Jesus, until this moment. In commissioning His disciples, Jesus began the process of extending the authority and responsibility of His healing ministry to those who follow Him. At AdventHealth, 83,000 team members accept this mission of "Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ." In communities spread across nine states, more than 7 million lives were touched last year. Embedded in our name “Advent” the arrival of hope and healing that heaven promised is proclaimed. The healing ministry of Christ will always be social in nature because He has determined to heal people through people. Faith-based health care is distinctive because it refuses to reduce humanity to a diagnosis. Seeing individuals as a sum of their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and experience means that we care for the whole person: body, mind and spirit. AdventHealth is on a journey to become a preeminent, faith-based, consumer-focused clinical company that delivers on the promise of whole-person care. In this presentation we will discuss the commitments and progress we have made on the journey and the challenges and opportunities that are before us.