Our Story
On several occasions, I have been asked how I got started in nursing home ministry. This question is somewhat challenging for me because there are so many things that have led us to where we are. I sometimes say that it was not an event that got me started but a process that the Lord continues to walk my wife and me through. I trust you will be encouraged by this story, and you will see that the Lord is alive and still working through those who love Him
(1 Corinthians 1:31).
Chaplain Bill Goodrich, Founder and President, God Cares Ministry
In the Beginning At the age of twenty-four I had come to the place of failure, despair, and hopelessness. I wanted to die. I asked the Lord if He would forgive me if I committed suicide. He spoke to me with great patience and kindness, saying, “I have created you for a purpose and have work for you to do; if you are not here, who will do it?” I have never been the same since.
This poor man cried out and the
Lord heard him. . .
Psalm 34:6
Little by little the Savior has been changing me and leading me into His perfect plan. As for me, I was nothing until Jesus Christ reached down very low and lifted me out of deep darkness. I will forever thank and praise Him, not only with my lips but also with all my life. To Him belongs eternal praise!
In 1984, at the age of twenty-six, I felt the desire to visit in a nursing home to bring happiness to the residents who were lonely. For several weeks I prayed for the Lord to lead me in this desire. One day while working on my car, I heard a radio interview with an Activities Director who was asking for volunteers. I believed that this was the open door and called for an appointment. During my interview I asked if there was something I could do that would be related to a church function. With a smile, the Activities Director told me, “I have just the job for you.” The job was to come in on Sundays and bring the residents from their rooms to the main dining area for a church service that five different churches held on a rotating basis. This seemed like a good task and the next Sunday I was given a list of names and instructions.
Within a few weeks I had established a friendship with Anna. She was a dear woman whom I would visit for an hour or two after the service and sometimes during the weekdays. Although I visited some of the other residents, Anna was the one I felt led to help grow closer to Jesus. After several months, Anna became less and less active; then one day I entered the nursing home to see her, and her bed was empty. When I inquired where she was, they told me she had died three or four days ago. My heart was broken and I thought that perhaps my mission in the nursing home was over. For two weeks I did not go. I asked the Lord to show me a sign if it was His will for me to continue in this ministry. On the third week, I decided to go and see if I would get my sign. I greeted some of the people in the halls and dining area, and then went into the room of a woman who was ninety-eight years old and bed-bound. When I entered, her face brightened and she asked, “Where have you been? I missed you and was wondering what happened to you.” Well, I took that as my sign from the Lord and decided that, at least for that time, this nursing home was the place where God wanted me to minister.
Pushed off the Diving Board As time went on, I would sit through the messages the different Pastors would bring on their designated Sunday. I was concerned for the residents because week after week they only heard salvation messages. Although I knew they needed to learn of repentance and receiving Jesus, I was burdened for the folks who were saved and needed practical application for following Jesus. Although I had never preached before, I would pray on the way from church to the home that the Lord would let me share some of the things I was learning in my church. One Sunday after gathering the residents for the Church service, the Pastor failed to arrive. As I observed the look of disappointment on the faces of the residents, I asked them to be patient and I would see what I could do. Going out into my pickup truck I prayed, “Not now O Lord! I'm not ready. Help me!” After looking over my notes from what my Pastor had shared earlier that day, I went in, stood before the residents, and explained that I was going to give the message. Well, I gave the kind of message that made them hunger for another one of those salvation messages! But they were polite and appreciated that I was at least willing to try. I certainly gained a lot of respect for Pastors that day.  Little did I realize that this was the next step into the perfect plan of the Lord. The next time that Pastor was scheduled to preach, I planned to fill in. Not only did he stop coming, one of the other Pastors stopped coming too. As time went on, I found other Christians who would come with me to help. We started a Bible study on Thursday evenings. One of the most faithful helpers impressed me so much that I married her. Her name is Mary Ann and she is still very faithful.
One of the things that concerned me in this ministry was that it seemed that almost no other Christians were interested in it. I could see a great need for ministry materials and training for Christians in this mission field, but I knew of none. I searched the Christian bookstores for books and large print tracts and found nothing specific to the need. I thought, “How strange!, God said that ‘pure and undefiled religion is to look after orphans and widows in their distress’ (James 1:27) but the religious people do not seem interested.” Finally, after about three years of searching, someone told me of Tom McCormick’s book, Nursing Home Ministry, The Manual. I ordered it and was greatly blessed by its contents. But still I thought, someone needs to produce giant print songbooks, tracts and other materials to nourish the nursing home residents.
 I began to pray that the Lord would enable me to bring an awareness in the church, help people to get started in nursing home visitation and produce the needed materials. I was also praying that the Lord would allow me to leave my job to go into this ministry full-time.
In 1988, the Lord impressed upon my heart that I was to prepare to train others to minister in the nursing homes. After some confirmation on this word, Mary Ann and I decided to leave three of the four nursing homes where we ministered and returned to school to obtain ordination. Shortly after we started school, I was introduced to a nursing home ministry called The Sonshine Society; a wonderful Christ-centered ministry that had done most of what was in my heart to do. They had already produced the giant print books and tracts, sing-a-long tapes and recruiting materials. I was so excited! I praised God especially after learning they were serving over ten thousand nursing home ministry workers throughout North America. I knew that the Lord was behind this work, so I began to ask Him where I was to go from there. Some time later, I was given the privilege of becoming a board member of Sonshine.
Diving into the Deep I had an excellent paying job with ALCOA and was able to pay off all our bills, including our home. Then in June of 1994, after seven years of praying and preparing, my wife and I took the leap of faith and I left ALCOA, ending 13 1/2 years of service.
In September of that year, we coordinated the first national Nursing Home Ministry Training Rally in which The Sonshine Society hosted. Almost two hundred nursing home ministry workers showed up from twenty states and Canada for this two-day event. This was one of the greatest days of my life! It was also the completion of another step that has since led to training thousands of volunteers throughout North America.
 In December of 1994, with the help of other Christians who shared in my concerns, GOD CARES MINISTRY was incorporated and recognized as a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry. Our purpose has been to offer quality Christ-centered spiritual care in Northeast Ohio's nursing homes. We really did not know how we were going to accomplish our mission, but we prayed for the Lord to guide us. We quickly learned that many Pastors and church leaders did not have an interest in nursing home ministry. When I would share my heart, they would express appreciation for God Cares Ministry but were unable to invest their time in it. At first, this was very discouraging until the Lord began to show us that He had given many lay-people an interest in ministering to nursing home residents. Many of these folks were not yet involved because they lacked the understanding of where and how to get started and how to meet the spiritual needs of such a diverse and frail community of people. We also discovered many churches that had a small group of people visiting nursing homes but needed help in developing a more structured and effective care team. These very needs matched my specific desires and prayers to help make a difference in this great harvest field.
After five years of leading workshops, making adjustments as I learned, interviewing residents, praying, and sharing with other nursing home ministry leaders, I came to understand some of the key elements for helping churches develop an effective care team. We then developed a five-phase process to help willing Christians recruit, prepare, equip, and plant a care team in a local nursing home. God Cares trains and works with these teams until they have a firm foundation in the nursing home. We then back away to allow them to build, as the Holy Spirit would lead. We continue to offer support through our newsletters, additional training workshops, and support meetings. We also have a team of prayer partners who help through praise and intercession to the Lord. The Lord has caused this approach to be very effective and we currently have over 150 teams in our region.
Still Swimming along Together, Mary Ann and I still minister on a weekly basis in two nursing homes that we have been in for over fourteen years. Mary Ann also has a team in a third home sharing with the residents who have Alzheimer's disease. I also have the honor of facilitating a fellowship for over twenty other nursing home ministry leaders in North America. We are called Christian Fellowship of Care Center Ministries (CFCCM).
Throughout twenty years of ministry, I have come to realize that all of us who are serving and giving in this mission field are a part of God's great-loving work on earth. “Darkness has covered the earth. . .” (Isaiah 60:2) but the Lord's light rises up and breaks through as we share His love and word. Our Father has taken many people like myself, who were very much a part of the darkness, and He has transformed us into lamps that now shine His light in this world for His glory and honor. How could we ever fully thank and praise Him for this privilege?
The success of this ministry has not come without pains, struggles, and disappointments. I have learned that in my trials and weaknesses, I must cry out to the Lord; then He becomes my strength and wisdom to go on. He also sends many caring people to partner with us; friends who have cheerfully invested untold hours and finances. We are so grateful to God!!! Because of this grace we have been able to produce a comprehensive handbook, a video training series and now this interactive website to help spread build up nursing home missionaries. Much more is planned and we trust that God will bring it to completion in His perfect time. Our prayer is that our Father’s kingdom will come, and His will be done in every long term care center. We are your servants to that end. To His glory and honor through Christ Jesus our King.
Come on in, the Water is Fine A ministry is birthed in various and unique ways. At times, the Lord is calling (or drawing) us into a mission field but we do not realize it. The calling into ministry is often an ongoing process of: seeing people in need, asking the Lord for His grace to help them, and then stepping out in faith, hope and love. At each phase of this process, the Lord does special and deep work in the depths of our being which makes us know that He is very real and present.
Is the Lord calling you into this great mission field? There is still much room for caring and committed Christians to show these often forgotten people that God personally cares for them. You will not be alone. Nursing home ministry is a compassionate move of God. He is building His church inside the care centers throughout America. We who have given ourselves to this work are actually joining God in His great plan to care for His people. He will lead you as you abide in Him.
(John 15:1-17)
© 2006
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