I hope people catch the vision and the endless possibilities for ministry when they purchase and read CTA’s two books, Grieving with Hope and Facing Illness with Hope. I’m continually astonished that they’ve been priced lower than most sympathy cards and even come with an envelope for mailing. Today people often send email cards for birthdays, etc. But when it comes to expressions of sympathy at a time of grief, I think most would rather send or give something more personal. That’s often the case too when it comes to encouraging someone facing an illness, hospital stay, rehab, etc. These books are helpful, encouraging gifts – expressing well beyond what a card can.
As the author, here’s my vision. Let’s start with churches. CTA offers a discounted price for larger purchases of both books. Imagine if congregations kept a large number of these on hand for their people to purchase at church (not trying to make a profit from them, of course) or even provided them free for their members. Individuals and families could then keep several of each at home, ready to share when a need arose. Every one of you can probably name several people facing an illness or dealing with grief at this very moment–family members, co-workers, neighbors, and even acquaintances God has placed in your life. Think of the personal ministry possibilities! Especially if you don’t have the right words yourself, let this Christ-centered, Scripture-based resource speak for you to all those affected by an illness or death–family members (parents, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, all) and even friends. You can easily provide hope and encouragement for those you see hurting, and what a blessing if you can also know you can pick more up at church whenever you need them. Catch the vision! Provide these resources to empower everyone in your congregation to bring hope in Christ to the hurting!
Has your church, group, or ministry caught the vision in a special way? Have you? Let us know via email.
As the editor who worked with Tim on this project, I’m probably prejudiced, but I need to second his words. I edited “Facing Illness with Hope” in my dad’s hospital room as he lay dying. I needed to refer back to “Grieving with Hope” several times to check formatting conventions and the like. The content of BOTH books comforted me so very much! Tim uses so many powerful Scriptures and his comments based on these Scriptures leave no doubt that he approaches this topic as someone who’s been there himself!
I’ve given “Grieving with Hope” to several friends in the past year or so in lieu of a sympathy card and they all have commented on the beautiful art and the comforting words. But until I experienced the comfort in a very personal way, I didn’t fully appreciate the work Tim and the team have done!