The Healing Ministry Team of Maple Ridge Community Church is an outgrowth of the stated purpose of the church, "…to be a living, life-giving expression of His redemptive presence in our community and the world…" Based on Christ's own ministry, we believe that God intends for us to be whole in body, soul, and spirit. Thus, the primary function of the Healing Ministry Team is to pray for healing in any area of a person's life that may be causing pain, whether it is spiritual, emotional, relational, or physical.

The mission of Maple Ridge Community Church's Healing Ministry Team is to make ourselves available to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring wholeness to those whom Jesus loves -- both those within Maple Ridge and those outside the church (Matthew 10:7-8).

  1. We pray for other people because Jesus loves them. First and foremost, Jesus loves each and every one. Bringing physical, emotional, and spiritual healing into the lives of people is a practical and tangible demonstration of that love and is evidence of His Kingdom.

  2. We pray for healing because Jesus told us to. Jesus gave authority to His disciples to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness (Matthew 10:1). Later, when speaking to His disciples following His resurrection, He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matthew 28:19, 20). By this chain of events, we have the same commission given to us as was given to His early followers. Jesus tells us as He told them, "...as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 20:21)

  3. We have a Healing Ministry Team in order to provide an avenue of service for those called and gifted for healing ministry. We believe that God chooses to appoint certain individuals to concentrate their ministries in specific ways and enables them to carry out these ministries. The Healing Ministry Team provides an avenue for those called to healing to exercise and to grow in what God has given them.

  4. Our ministry helps newcomers on the path toward becoming active participants in the life and ministry of Maple Ridge Community Church.

We believe that the greatest healing happens in community. Every member at Maple Ridge is a minister, and as such, we all have a responsibility for warmly welcoming the newcomer and for enfolding into the life of the church those who are new to the fellowship. These two aspects of ministry, welcoming and assimilating, are vital parts of the overall ministry of healing.

Sunday Services
After each service, Healing Ministry Team members are available in the front of the auditorium to pray for any need brought to us. Anyone -- member or visitor -- is welcome to walk up to one of our team members and request prayer for any need. "If you have a problem that God can help with, we can pray for it." These sessions will include a short interview, so that the seeker can explain the need to the team member. Typically, it takes ten to twenty minutes to receive prayer in this setting.

Repeated Prayer for On-Going Situations
Sometimes, when one is working through a difficult situation, repeated prayer sessions are helpful. Upon request, the Healing Ministry Team will assign two or three members to meet with an individual facing such a situation. Typically, they meet for about an hour, weekly or bi-weekly, for a total of six sessions, at a place and time that are mutually convenient for those involved. We make house calls, and we have done hospital visits.

Outreach Events
Jesus healed in every town where He preached the Good News of the Kingdom. Following His example and His explicit instructions (Matthew 10:7-8 and Mark 16: 15-18), the Healing Ministry Team participates in all organized outreach activities of Maple Ridge Community Church.

We believe that healing is a part of God's Kingdom, that it is provided for in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we are commissioned by Him to be actively engaged in healing ministry, empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit. We recognize that healing is only one of the ministries necessary to establish the Kingdom of God in the world. We believe, however, that healing should be involved in all areas of the ministry of the church. Therefore, as the Healing Ministry Team of Maple Ridge Community Church, we actively support and participate in the entire spectrum of ministry at Maple Ridge.

Healing is a power ministry. By this we mean that no healing takes place by our efforts, but only if the power of God is present to do the healing. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, doing the will of the Father that heals the physical, emotional, and/or spiritual illness. We have been called to be the agents of God, to be the conduit through which the requests for healing are sent to the Father, and His loving response is returned. Many words can be used to describe this function: healer, intercessor, mediator, paraclete, advocate. When God, in His wisdom, chooses to heal in what we consider a miraculous way, a power encounter takes place between Him and whoever is being healed. The important thing to remember is that it is His power and His healing that is taking place. Although we are involved in it, it has nothing to do with us except whether or not we have obeyed the commission that God has given us to pray for the sick.