The Great Commission….Matthew 28: 16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
M4H grew out of a response to the great commission and a realization that medical service is of dire need not only in the local community, but also abroad.
Twenty years ago I and the late Faye James (an esteemed nurse) started a ‘Blood Pressure Clinic.’ This did not meet with much success as members of the community were resistant to having there Blood Pressure taken.
In July 29 of 2009, I drafted a strategy to do some type of medical missions; this was after a review of the professional demographics of the PCC members. What I found that there was at that time twenty nurses, a pharmacist, a Physiotherapist and a Doctor attending PCC. My new daughter-in-law (Vanisia Grant) was a newly minted DMD. After careful review and a realization of the awesome nature of the task, the idea went into hibernation.
A few years ago (April, 2010), I met Dr. Paula Worts at the GLOW Tea Party where she was the guest speaker; she would share with me how she was doing an annual medical mission’s trip to Jamaica. Dr. Worts This piqued my interest, but it was not until March of 2012 that the idea was reborn. Trevor Dixon had left PCC (Elder in charge of Missions), and although he and I had worked closely on missions, my knowledge of the missionaries in Jamaica was lacking. It was then that my wife Cele, suggested to me that on our trip to Jamaica, we could visit all the missionaries that PCC support in Jamaica.
I formulating the plan I read, where in an article written by Dr. Irving McKenzie where there was a looming dental crisis in Jamaica. It was then that the idea came to ‘lure’ Christan and Dr. Vanisia Grant to come with us to Jamaica and see if we explore the possibility of doing a Dental Missions.
Talking Points for M4H
1. Jamaica has a looming dental crisis
2. 170 dentists…clustered in the cities…1 dentist for every 165,000 persons International standard is 1:3,000. Only about 15 per cent of the Jamaican population having access to health care, of this amount, only six per cent really has proper dental coverage.
3. A chance to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4. Two days of hard work and 1 day of relaxation in the land of wood and water
5. Pay your airfare ($330.00) and other expenses are covered by M4H
6. Teach good dental hygiene to primary school kids, cleaning and extraction. Preserving tooth is too expensive.
7. Each dentist will have 2 medical assistant.
8. M4H is a ministry of Pioneer Community Church. Headed by Donat E. Grant. A software engineer who was born in Jamaica.
9. We will be working with Dr. Vanisia Grant – dentist at Sumter County Dental Clinic
Below is a Summary of how M4H is in line with PCC’s goals and Vision.
And why People should the support Ministry
M4H provides a Mission outlet to the Third World where medical professionals and others get an opportunity to serve and give back to those less fortunate and in so doing will enhance opportunities to share the Kingdom of God.
M4H by its organization and nature is a short term Mission and therefore allows PCC members to experience the Mission field in a way that will generally cause them to be more supportive of Missions in general but allows them to continue their regular lives.
M4H intends to broaden its reach and by so doing will cause PCC to be recognized within the local Community as a church where active service is part of our mission and thereby drawing those who are seeking that type of outlet.
The motto of M4H is ‘Showing Christ’s love by healing bodies and souls.” We can accomplish this goal by using medicine as the medium to first heal the physical body and then using the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cure the soul.
