Martha was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor after serving in the mission field for not quite a full term. Coming home was not an easy decision because there had not been time to find employment and become established again. Several months later, with the immediate medical challenges resolved, Martha and her husband Mike found themselves without fulfilling employment and financial needs unmet. Crying out to God many times a day for His guidance, they both struggled to know God’s will for their lives. Their marriage, which had survived more than 30 years, was now in deep trouble as Martha sunk deeper and deeper into a black hole of despair.
Seeking help from various professional sources proved frustrating and fruitless for Martha, and when she heard of a biblical prayer counselor they arranged to spend some time. Had she realized the baggage of her childhood and the deep emotional healing Jesus longed to give her, she might have avoided much stress. Mike, too, was plagued with life patterns that were self-defeating, not understanding the source.
While the lay prayer counselor gently cared for the hearts of this emotionally fragile couple, Jesus became very real as the Healer of their pain. Through prayer and waiting on God’s answers, this couple found insight to many mysteries and family dysfunctions that had plagued them from childhood. A new hope and joy dispelled the depression and gave new direction to their lives. Excitedly Mike responded, “We are now experiencing the message of righteousness by faith made very practical.”
It is seven years since God led in the formation of the WellSpring Family Life and Counseling Ministry at the Berrien Springs Village Seventh-day Adventist Church. During that time we have constantly encountered families in crises, many finding no long-term positive resolution for their issues. The Bible makes it clear that God hates divorce, and yet the statistics within God’s church are not very different than those of the world. This has caused us to plead with God for His method to resolve relationship challenges in last day Christian homes.
After much prayer and searching, God led us to a biblically based model for guiding individuals and couples to the experience of restored delight in all of their relationships and a deeper connection with God than they ever could have imagined. In April 2005, WellSpring Ministries gave birth to a focused marriage and relationship peer counseling ministry called LifeSpring Ministry. “It’s all about Jesus, not about us.” Jesus is the counselor and He alone can change hearts and heal relationships.
In contrast to the traditional psychological approach, the role of a biblical peer counselor is to demonstrate Christ-like love, acceptance, and forgiveness. In a quiet, unhurried, and non-judgmental environment, we invite people to connect with Jesus and identify the source of the pain that plagues their hearts. Then, rather than focus on ways to resolve it, we simply bring it to Jesus in prayer. We believe all relationship problems are really spiritual problems—bitterness, pride, and moral failure to name a few. Even though we may prefer to bury our pain, Jesus wants us to identify our personal and relational issues and then take them to Him for healing and victory. Jesus is eager to bring our lives into complete harmony with Him. He is preparing a people whose sole purpose in life is to reflect Him and take the good news of restored lives, marriages, and families, through Heaven’s grace, to the dying world.
Personal freedom encourages marital harmony. Marital harmony is the backbone of family agreement. When the families in our churches are in one accord, God’s Spirit will be poured out and our churches will become the presence in our communities God designed them to be.
It is our dream that this practical and basic lay ministry becomes available to everyone in our churches and communities. We are also envisioning a retreat center where hurting people and couples can come for relational, emotional, and lifestyle healing—God’s way. This center would also be a place where individuals and couples are trained as prayer facilitators for their own communities.
Jan and Jim had been friends for many years. Their friendship grew to the place that they knew they wanted to join their lives, but the pain and dysfunction from their childhoods and courting years were a roadblock to the intimacy God intends for a marriage relationship. Generational sin and destructive family patterns (family violence, divorce, etc.) inhibited their ability to be emotionally healthy. Choices made early in their relationship, including an abortion, left deep scars.
After recommitting their lives to Jesus, Jan and Jim decided to spend the time with a prayer counselor. They did the work necessary to prepare for an intensive week so they could find freedom before they were married. The week with their prayer counselor was the worst and best week of their lives. They came with much fear, but by the end of the week discovered a peace they had never known before. They are now married and experiencing an emotional connection they never dreamed possible.
If you are interested in learning more about this ministry, you may contact us via the ministry website, www.lifespringministry.org, or write to: LifeSpring Ministry, 14547 Main St., Buchanan, MI 49107.
"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)
Dorothy and Bruce Hayward are on the pastoral staff at the Village Seventh-day Adventist church in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and are the founders of LifeSpring Ministry.
