On the Sunday morning that Lynda Clerke was sitting at the Rock thinking about what she should do to serve at the church, her two great passions, helping others and all things medicine, had never intersected in her mind. Suddenly, they did.
“I should help out at the medical ministry here at Rock Church!” she thought. But when she looked for it on the Rock website, there wasn’t one. She emailed Zeb Hill, the Rock Church outreach director and mentioned that perhaps, if one didn’t exist, she should start it. Zeb responded, “Great! You’re an answer to prayer!”
“Wait, I’m not prepared to take it all on myself!” Lynda insisted, panicked by the thought. “I can’t do it.”
“Well, let me tell you something,” Zeb replied. “If you do take this on, you have to be clear, it’s not your ministry. It’s God’s. God will do with it what He will. All you have to do is stay faithful and He will do the rest.”
In April of 2013, Lynda, trying her best to embrace the idea of doing something she wasn’t in control of, began the medical ministry. It has taken off like a rocket.
Setting up a small table in the lobby after church service one Sunday, more than 90 doctors, nurses, medical students and other professionals lined up to offer their services. And even though it showed that God was firmly at the reigns of the ministry, Lynda still fought with feelings of, Now what? How am I going to handle this?
Leaving it entirely in God’s hand is the only way this is going to work. I really just need to get out of the way.
“I have to keep reminding myself of what Zeb said,” Lynda offers. “Leaving it entirely in God’s hand is the only way this is going to work. I really just need to get out of the way.”
Meanwhile, Rock Church’s medical ministry partners with local organizations to help staff clinics, assist with health screenings, support fundraising events, offer medical resource support, organize and conduct special Medicare classes, and staff the Rock Church with medical personnel for their Sunday services. They also have begun preparing to become a prayer center for those who seek it—prayer is the number one request that comes into the ministry. They also hope to be able to address the medical needs of individuals but currently can’t because of legal dangers the church and volunteers could face as a result. It is a goal for the future.
“Leading the medical ministry is very fulfilling even though it is a constant struggle between peace and fear,” Lynda says with a smile, “mostly because it constantly reveals to me how in control God is and how in control I’m not.”
