The following is a guest post by John and Melody Pruser, trained Stephen Ministers who are also a part of the newly formed Holy Cross Care Team. We are grateful for their ministry among us! For more information about Stephen Ministry, the Holy Cross Care Team or to receive care for you or a loved one, please contact Pastor Tom or Deaconess Intern Rachel Fruge.
Following the conclusion of Stephen Ministry training in the Spring of 2019, Melody and I were curious and eager to see what The Lord had next planned for us. Over the summer we became a bit anxious as we were ready to serve, but had not yet found the path for which we would be chosen. As Christians we all know that God does things on His own time, and in hindsight we as individuals give a collective joyful sigh of “oh yes, now we see exactly what our Father had in mind”!
In late summer I made a trip to Sam’s. At checkout I noticed a couple from Holy Cross that we had met in the new members class (yes, new members class tour #2 for us; we apparently didn’t get it right during session #1). It was apparent to me that they could use a hand in getting their supplies out to the car and loaded up so I followed them out and re-introduced myself as a fellow member of HCLC. On what was a very hot day, we had an enjoyable ~10 minute conversation before saying our goodbyes and heading home. In follow up, we spoke with Pastor Tom and Shelley Duke (as Stephen Ministry leader and friend) just before the Care Team Ministry was officially formed to ask if we could “officially” help this couple going forward. They both agreed that it was an excellent calling, so finally, we had found our next path for service!
To date Melody and I have been blessed by getting to know our “care couple” and that is the one thing we have enjoyed the most! We share verse and prayer with them, take them an occasional meal and even got to help in the cleanup of their property following the October tornado. We are reminded of Jesus’ words to Simon in Luke 5:4 “Go out into deep water”…we see that with God’s presence, the water is never really that deep.
John Pruser
Trained Stephen Minister
Holy Cross Care Team