Could you use your nursing or midwifery skills to serve at the Good News Hospital in Mandritsara and share the gospel with unreached people?
Background
Madagascar is the world’s fourth biggest island and boasts flora and fauna that exist nowhere else on earth. 92% of the population exist on less than £2 per day. 41% of the population identify with Christianity, 7% with Islam, the majority follow Traditional African Religions. Madagascar is still in need of Bible teaching and there are still ten people groups who are waiting to hear the gospel for the first time. AIM’s goal is to reach these unreached people with the good news of Christ, and to see Christ-centred churches across Madagascar, and the rest of Africa.
The Mandritsara Good News Hospital project began as a joint vision between the Association of Bible Baptist Churches of Madagascar and Africa Evangelical Fellowship, a missionary society working in the countries of southern Africa. An agreement between the two groups was signed in December 1988 with the intention of opening a mission hospital which would be the focus for evangelism and church planting in the interior of the north-west province of Mahajanga, an area considered “unreached” hitherto with the gospel.
Since that time, the Good News School, the Voice of the Good News radio station, the Community Health work and the Nursing and Midwifery Training School have all developed as Malagasy Christians and Missionaries from overseas have worked together to bring the love of Christ and the message of his gospel to the people in the Mandritsara district.
The hospital consists of Outpatients (2000 patients/month), Inpatients (57 beds – Medical, Surgical & Maternity), Operating Theatre (the only one in a 200km radius, performing 1400 operations per year), Eye Department (including an operating room performing 450 cataract operations per year), a Laboratory, an Xray department, a Pharmacy and a Nursing & Midwifery School.
The hospital provides a high standard of care to its patients in a resource poor setting. It is committed to the continual professional development of all staff, as well as training Malagasy nurses and midwives in the school. But the priority is to have the opportunity to share Jesus with every patient who attends.
The hospital day starts at 7:30am with a gospel talk, with many patients already gathered on the benches in the main outpatient department. The Malagasy people love listening to stories, and so they love listening to words from the Bible. Each ward has a Gospel talk every morning and evening, and the Hospital employs two full time evangelists who spend time talking and praying with patients, as well as distributing Gospel tracts. All our staff are Christians and have the opportunity to pray and share the good news with patients, and every surgical operation is preceded by prayer.
Vision & Strategy
The vision for church-planting through the Good News project has four elements, based on Acts 1v8:
In the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to the Father as witnesses for Christ firstly, here in Mandritsara town (‘Jerusalem’); secondly, within the Mandritsara district (‘Judea’); thirdly in neighboroughing districts through planting churches in other district capitals (‘Samaria’); and fourthly cross-cultural work either within Madagascar or beyond (‘the ends of the Earth’).
The opportunity to be involved in these aspects would depend on the length of time of the assignment and also on language ability.
With respect to the first two areas of the strategy, there still exists plenty of opportunity for teaching and discipleship within churches in Mandritsara, in village churches in the Mandritsara district and also possibilities to teach on the twice-yearly village church leaders training. There would also be the chance to support longer-term missionaries and Malagasy colleagues in the work of the third and fourth aspects of the vision.
Ministry and type of work
You would join the Africa Inland Church Mission Department (AICMD) team in outreach to the Muslim Unreached People Group (UPG) – the O, through a holistic medical ministry.
Ideally, this expatriate nurse would work alongside an African nurse, together professionally meeting the needs for physical health in the love, power and compassion of Jesus, while making the most of every opportunity to make disciples of Jesus by sharing the full Gospel message of Jesus’ saving and healing power and grace to meet the needs for spiritual, emotional and physical health.
Live a life of witness and discipling whether in or outside of clinic hours. Seeking people out, intentionally making home visits in the village as well as welcoming people to your home in order to share the truths of God’s Word and the Gospel message needs to be a regular part of daily life. This witness for Jesus is carried on through all of life, whether in a clinical health setting or out of clinic hours. The healthcare ministry is a wonderful avenue to form relationships with the O people and offers many opportunities to share the Gospel with, pray, and show Jesus’ love and compassion to people. Praying for and expecting Jesus to work miraculously to bring healing – as a confirmation of the Gospel that’s shared is a privilege to participate in – using the power and authority he’s given us disciples of his today.
Relationships in the community offer many opportunities to share Bible teaching and discipleship – utilising Chronological Bible story memory cards etc.
Experience and Qualifications
- Relevant nursing or midwifery qualifications and experience
- Ability to grow into diagnosing and prescribing meds.
- Ability and desire to share the Gospel boldly yet sensitively
- Discipleship and outreach Gospel sharing experience
