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Home  About
Us
What Is HealthServe?
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In 1878 seven
men committed to Christian medical mission met near Drury
lane in London to found the Medical Missionary Association,
with the aim of encouraging Christian doctors in their faith
and to go into mission - at home and overseas.
For over one hundred and twenty six years, the MMA continued
that aim - broadening its work to incorporate other health
professions as well as medicine, and shifting its focus exclusively
onto overseas mission with the founding of the NHS.
In 2000 MMA launched Healthserve,
a resource centre for medical mission. The aim was to use
new technologies to further develop the aims and vision of
the MMA.
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In March of 2004, the MMA merged
with the Christian Medical Fellowship, with
whom it had worked very closely since its founding in the
late nineteen forties. One of the six constitutional aims
of CMF is the mobilisation and support of
its members, and other Christian health professionals in
mission. Thus it was felt that both organisations could achieve
more and be more efficient if they worked under one umbrella.
HealthServe continues, now as a ministry
of CMF in the UK.
For the needs are as great now as they were over
a century ago:
- Today, twelve thousand men, women
and children will die from preventable illnesses because
there is no available or affordable healthcare for them
to access.
- Today, nearly 14,000 people will be
infected with HIV – 95% of them in developing nations.
- Today, there are 45 million people
living with blindness, yet 36 million of them could easily
be cured if they had access to a doctor.
- Today, 1,400 women in the developing
world will die in pregnancy and childbirth, almost all
from preventable causes.
- Today, 25,000 people will be infected
with tuberculosis. One in ten will die.
- Today, 1.4 million people will become
ill with malaria. 2,700 will die (70% will be children
and 90% will be in Africa)
- Today, 8,000 children in developing
nations will die from measles, TB, whooping cough and
diphtheria – all immunisable illnesses.
The gap between the richest and poorest is greater
than ever.
- 150 million children in developing countries are malnourished,
and 5 million more people suffer from malnutrition each
year, yet the world produces enough food to feed every
man, woman and child on earth adequately.
- 1.4 billion people live on less than $1 per day.
- Less than 10% of global spending on medical research
goes into diseases that account for 90% of the world’s
health problems – all in developing nations.
- Health services in many developing nations are slowly
collapsing as a result if under-investment, exodus of
skilled staff to the West, and the burden of AIDS, TB
and malaria.
Jesus called the disciples to heal the sick, care for the
poor and proclaim the gospel of salvation (Luke 9 v2 10 v9 & 29
- 37), and today the places that need the gospel most are
also those that need healers and carers who will go in the
name of Jesus.
HealthServe, as a ministry of CMF has
the following aims and objectives:
Aims
- Promoting Godliness among Christian healthcare professionals
and students, especially in relation to global mission.
- Motivating, mobilising and equipping Christian health
professionals and students for involvement in global
mission.
- Supporting Christian health professionals and students
working overseas in mission.
- Encouraging the development of innovative and strategic
thinking about global healthcare mission.
- Mobilising resources for multidisciplinary healthcare
mission.
Objectives
- Organising events, courses and overseas trips to inspire,
motivate, inform, train and equip professionals and students
in relation to healthcare mission.
- Supporting UK and international fellowships for Christian
healthcare professionals and students in the areas of
spiritual growth and mission mobilisation.
- Producing, collecting and disseminating resources related
to healthcare mission
- Commissioning and disseminating research in the field
of healthcare mission.
- Supporting specialist publications related to healthcare
mission.
- Being actively involved in national initiatives and
networks relevant to healthcare mission.
- Maintaining dialogue with secular agencies where appropriate.
- Capturing and utilising knowledge/skills of healthcare
professionals engaged in healthcare mission on return
to the UK or ‘in-country’.
Our vision is simply:
To see Multidisciplinary
Christian Global Healthcare Mission developed and strengthened
as a witness to the Lord Jesus, as part of the fulfilment
of the Great Commission [Matt 28: 18 – 20] and in obedience
to Jesus’ command to ‘preach & heal’ [Luke 9: 2 & 10: 9],
to care for the poor and marginalised [Matt 25: 34 - 40,
Isaiah 58: 6 – 10], and to take the gospel to all Creation
[Mark 16: 15].
At the dawn of third millennium since the birth of Jesus,
the needs for Christians engaged in healthcare and mission
to the developing world are greater than ever, and HealthServe seeks
to help meet those needs, responding to the changes of our
21st Century world.
If you would like more information on supporting the work
of HealthServe and Christian
Medical Fellowship, or if you would like to know
more about any aspects of our work please contact us:
Christian Medical Fellowship
6 Marshalsea Road
London
SE1 1HL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7234 9660
Fax: +44 (0)20 7234 9661
Email: healthserve@cmf.org.uk
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Cure
the sick who are there, say to them
"The Kingdom of God has come near to you." Luke 10: 9
©2004 - Christian Medical
Fellowship.
CMF is a registered charity, number 1039823
CMF is a Member of Global
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