A MINISTRY TO THE DYING

On February 4, 2013, Michael Fechner, Sr. wrote on his blog:

“Yesterday was my birthday. For most of my life, this has been a day where I think about myself! More recently, however, the Lord has shown me my need to serve others.”

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For months the local Gideon Camp I was a member of in Frisco, Texas, prayed for Mike and the work he was doing. This is a true and inspirational story—in Mike’s own words—as he continued on his blog:

“This same day last year I received news that cancer had reappeared in a lymph node in my sternum. I can remember that moment as if it were yesterday. I sat weeping in the parking lot of my daughter’s regional swim meet with my oldest son, Michael Jr., by my side and despaired over the fact that this disease had returned. Later, as I sat poolside, the heavy humid air in the natatorium felt oppressive, not unlike the fear and darkness that closed around my spirit.

“That year, I didn’t want any birthday gifts. All I wanted for my birthday was to live!

“In every city around the world, people battling disease, famine, and war want little more than the precious gift of life—God’s first and greatest gift to us. Now, one year later—on this birthday—I praise God for another year of life. I also find myself grateful that He allowed cancer to become a part of my spiritual growth. The ordeal of cancer has expanded my heart to see the needs of others, which allows me [to] think more of others than myself! The eyes of my wicked heart are slowly being opened to just how selfish I am.

“In 2012 this unwanted battle for my life took me to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for six weeks. As I stood at the battlefront of my personal war against cancer, I saw for the first time my new mission field. Throughout my ordeal, the Lord had been revealing just how much He loves me.

In Houston, [at MD Anderson] however, I was surrounded by people who felt lost and alone because they didn’t know Jesus. Nearly two decades earlier, God placed on my heart a calling to serve orphans, widows, and the poor. Now in Houston, He added the sick. My heart breaks especially for those battling cancer, and I feel overwhelming compassion for their families. What is more, my gratitude overflows for the medical staff serving them.

“Throughout my six week stay in the cancer ward—a war zone many people choose to ignore—I began the ministry of Chemo Church. The need for this ministry became evident when I began visiting fellow patients and praying with them. My nurses, who became my ministry partners, commented, ‘We have never had anyone, even a minister, get up while doing chemo and minister to other patients and staff.’ This shocked and saddened me! The Light shines brightest in the darkness. How could so many Christians come into a place of such hopelessness, seek their own healing, and leave these precious souls in darkness?

“I should not have been surprised; the answer can be found in an undeniable spiritual principle. We replicate what dominates our hearts. If our hearts are consumed with a desire to live and to be blessed, that will be replicated in our words and deeds. It is a self-centeredness that is all too common in the church today, but Jesus has called us to something much greater. He gives us life so that we might sacrifice it daily for the sake of service to Him. (Romans 12:1–2).

“Trust me when I say that this is a message of conviction for me as well.

“Hospitals—especially cancer wards—are often places of hopelessness and despair; but, they can also become places where the lost find life in Jesus Christ. To answer the call of Christ, we are officially launching the ministry of Chemo Church to bring help, hope, and healing to those battling cancer, to their families, and to the medical staff serving these patients.

“I am convinced that the reason I am breathing today—having endured brain surgery, proton treatment, chemotherapy, cyber knife radiation, and gamma knife radiation—is for one purpose…to tell others about Jesus, who is mighty to save and to heal! My birthday wish this year is not merely to live, but to mobilize an army of hope, help, and healing; to minister to those struggling for life in chemo wards across the country. The harvest is ready for you— all you need to do is say ‘yes’ to God’s call for your life.”

Post Note: Since Mike wrote this, he went home to be with he Lord in April of 2014. In one of GOD’S OTHER WAYS, through a bout with cancer, He allowed Mike’s CHEMO CHURCH to be a way to share Jesus and to be a “ministry to the dying.”

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“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:34-40 NLT

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 NLT

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NLT

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