One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter , he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk". Taking him by the right hand , he helped him up , and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. (Acts 3:1-7 NIV).

Introduction

This value follows from the previous one. A community of grace based believers will be ready to heal broken humanity in whatever area it is required.

Healing with mercy and grace gives us a practical, contemporary model of expressing the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Greek word soteria means healing, salvation, wholeness, deliverance, restoration, the total work of Christ. Salvation in the New Testament embraces healing, deliverance and total restoration between man and his maker. It is with this concept of healing that we are called to bring soteria to the world.

1) Healing comes in many forms; mental, spiritual, social, emotional and physical. In this sense we believe that biblical healing is holistic. That is that is not just the physical nor is it just the emotional etc. that needs healing. The wholeness that begins with a relationship with Jesus and flows through to our afflictions and imperfections is the kind of healing we seek.

2) Going out to preach and heal is central to the commission of Jesus, not only was it central to His ministry, but it is also central to the mission of His church. Essential to being a healing body is an understanding of the poor and oppressed. It is this group whom Jesus himself showed God's grace and mercy through the ministry of healing.

3) This group is all around us today, working class, living in the suburbs. They can appear on the surface to be 'normal' balanced people. Many, if not most are close to the edge, booze, drugs, pills, broken marriages have brought disaster to them. Addicts, alcoholics, runaways, dropouts, homosexuals, criminals, cons and street people, these are coming to be known the 'fourth world'.

Priorities

1) Evangelism to the lost is to be centre of healing, otherwise we end up with a social programme or a humanistic psychological technique. Healing in this context confronts people with eternal issues. Jesus and the apostles ministered in this way, allowing God to break through into people lives in the power of His Spirit.

2) The atmosphere of our ministry must be one of compassion for needs of people in a total sense. We want to build a church community of compassion.

3) It is important for us to engage in the needs of the poor, serving those who are physically as well as spiritually oppressed. This ministry not only addresses the roots of poverty, but also keeps us keenly aware of needs around us. If we don't address these issues we can 'spiritualise' everything to the point where we are not compassionate to people's immediate physical needs.

4) We need to develop and maintain a lifestyle of praying for the sick and learning to move with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is He who heals and we who pray.

Practices

1) Personal friendship-evangelism is the most effective practice, from which we can role-model Christ by living a non-religious, relevant life-style. Into this practice we can pray for the sick and bring the light of Christ into people's lives. This is a non-threatening, but powerful way of effecting the world around us for Jesus.

2) Going out into people's homes and ministering with compassion is to be a practice we must engage in. Mission is a ministry primarily of the Church, mission societies have their place, but as a church, we are first called to mission by going to the poor and the lost. Healing prayer in this context is where we start seeing God's hand move miraculously, it is His will for us to reach these people, therefore He is committed to honouring this kind of ministry.

3) We take every opportunity to lay hands on the sick and wait for the Holy Spirit to bring healing.

4) Home groups should be used to nurture a healing ministry. The environment of these groups should be such that healing is taught, role modelled and practiced. From here we can also plan visits to the sick and the poor, working as a team as we bring God's love to the lost.