|
 All
about CarePoint: Why, What, & Who
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
On any given Sunday hurting people collapse
onto your church pews beat up by life and too often they
leave with their wounds not bound (or worse not noticed).
It is practically impossible for a single pastor to meet
the Christian care needs of all members of a congregation
of 200 or 300 people. Nor is he supposed to. The call to
care is on all believers (Galatians 6:2). So the model of
care ministry established in the New Testament is distributed
care, with believers bearing one another's burdens and tending
to each other in times of trouble. Though there are some
situations when only direct pastoral intervention will do,
a distributed lay ministry of care extends the range and
scope of a congregations care ministry to the members and
the larger community. Christ-centered care groups foster
inreach and outreach and can go where pastoral care alone
could never quite reach.
Those inside the
church connect more deeply; those outside the church are
drawn in by the genuine care members have not only for one
another but for all members of the community.
CarePoint is an explicitly Christian ministry
that provides resources to help churches answer the call
to care through supportive small care groups. Our objective
is to provide Christ-centered, Bible-based resources on
a wide range of life-crises, such as depression, anger,
anxiety, and abuse. The premise is simple: Jesus concluded
his parable about the Good Samaritan who was a neighbor
to the half-dead traveler he came across on the road to
Jerusalem with the charge: “You go, then, and do the
same“ (Luke 10:37, GNB).
As believers called to bear one another's
burdens we need practical help to respond to those in crisis.
For James reminds us always: “What good is there in
your saying to them, ‘God bless you! Keep warm and
eat well!‘—if you don‘t give them the necessities
of life?‘“ (James 2:16, GNB). You know that James
could as easily have been speaking of anxiety or depression,
grief or addiction. To the depressed, do we say: “Cheer
up! Don‘t worry, be happy. Go and be delighted“?
To the anxious, “Lighten up already. All is calm, all
is bright“?
In a Nutshell: CarePoint is a transdenominational
para-church publishing ministry whose mission is to equip
Christian churches with the resources and training they
need to minister effectively and gracefully to those within
the church and in the larger community facing various life-crises.
CarePoint's focus is on the lay-led small care group as
a primary vehicle of support and healing, where two are
three gather together to support and encourage one another
in the troubled seasons of life.
|
|
|
Kelly Hawkins has mentored women, led small groups for 
many years and had leadership responsibilities with Great
Commission Ministries for sixteen years. She is currently
the Women’s Ministry Director at Frontline Church
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After graduating from Eastern Michigan
University, she worked for several years as a Mental Health
Professional. Having discovered her true passion for a writing
ministry, she is now the CarePoint Program Director for
Silas Publishing. Always seeking to keep her family as a
priority, Kelly and her husband, Dave, live in the Ann Arbor
area with their three children, Tim, Adam and Allison.
 
For
many years a counselor in private practice, Scott was called
to the writing and publishing ministry in 2000. The author
of two novels—The Healing of Ryne O'Casey
(2004, ) and The Calling of Jujubee Forthright (2006),
both from FaithWalk Publishing (www.faithwalkpub.com;
www.scottphilipstewart.com),
Scott holds degrees in religion, psychology, and child &
family development (Ph.D., Georgia). He lives in the greater
Atlanta area with the greatest blessings of his life - his
wife Lena, their three sons Scott, Chace, and Aidan, two
of the three Rs, and his acoustic and electronic drum kits.
We believe:
-
in
the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible, which
is God's word written
-
in
the triune nature of one God in three Persons—Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit
-
that God is the Creator of all things
-
in
the deity of Jesus Christ
-
in the substitutionary atonement of the death of Jesus
Christ
-
in
the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ
-
that
salvation is by grace through faith alone apart from
any human works or effort
-
in
the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world today
-
in
the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth
-
in
the eternal judgment of both the righteous and unrighteous
-
that
the Church should constantly be ready for Christ's
imminent return.
|
|
 |
|
|
