Salt & Light
What makes for ethical (or unethical) faith-sharing with patients? Recently, NCF members grappled with this topic in our quarterly Journal Club. Based on JCN articles by Dr. Marsha D. Fowler, Evangelism in Patient Care: An Ethical Analysis (36:3, pp. 172-177) and Dr. David A. Dorman, A Theology of Neediness and Evangelism (36:3, pp. 178-179), attendees had a rousing discussion! NCF members can view Journal Club at ncf-jcn.org/membership/journal-club and earn 1 contact hour of continuing nursing education. Log in using the user name and password you created when you joined NCF. If you need assistance, email mailto:[email protected]
If you're looking for help in knowing how to share your faith with patients, this is an outstanding resource. Not a member? Join at ncf-jcn.org/membership!
Why Be an NCF Member?
Nurses Christian Fellowship is a professional and ministry organization for nursing students, nurses, and nurse educators. As a Focused Ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA, NCF serves campuses and communities around the nation and is a member country of Nurses Christian Fellowship International. Learn more at http://ncf-jcn.org. Contact us at mailto:[email protected]
On Campus
Real Hope for Nursing Students and Beyond
God loves every nursing student and faculty member who is on campus for the fall 2019 semester. That's why we spend hours praying and preparing for students and Nurses Christian Fellowship groups on campuses around the United States. We want all nursing students to feel welcome as they explore and grow in the intersection of their career and faith. We want to give them hope that they in turn can bring to those around them, now and for years to come as they enter the workplace!
I'm excited that NCF InterVarsity (IVCF) is officially on 125 campuses-our all-time high-which means thousands of nursing students will be welcomed to campus by nurses in an NCF chapter this fall. NCF is a part of that larger vision of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. God is at work on behalf of the students at hundreds of campuses across the United States, which don't have any known witnessing communities.
In response, God has given InterVarsity a bold picture for the next 12 years, our 2030 Calling:
Longing for revival, we catalyze movements that call every corner of every campus to follow Jesus.
By the year 2030, we hope to see diverse witnessing communities on all 2,500 U.S. campuses that have over 1,000 students. NCF is an integral part of this bold vision. Nursing students are a strategic corner of campus! As they study together intensely, community is created; through that community, God's hope can be shared and impact students' learning, friendships, and lives. This 2019-2020 school year, I am praying toward 150 campuses planted with a hope-giving nursing ministry.
We cannot do this alone. We need you to pray, to advocate, to give to student ministries, to volunteer, and to join NCF:
* Pray: Ask God to continue to open doors to establish ministry on 150 campuses by June 2020.
* Advocate: Do you or someone you know have a passion for nursing students in your community? Connect yourself and your colleagues with NCF! We'd love to hear your stories and interest in students.
* Give: We need resources to move the mission forward. Would you consider supporting NCF on a monthly basis? Would you consider giving an on-going gift totaling $600 or more per year?
* Volunteer: We have opportunities for you to be involved, from working with students on a nearby campus, to taking food treats, to speaking at a meeting.
* Join: If you are not a member of our professional fellowship, join and be a part of the larger NCF community.
Follow up with us at mailto:[email protected] and let us know your interest in getting involved. Thank you in advance for your investment in the ministry of NCF!
Jen Wojtysiak, BS, ThM
Student Ministries Director
From the JCN Senior Editor
Over summer 2019, our editorial team met in Colorado for a working retreat. Our purpose was to discuss important journal issues, strategize goals and objectives for the future, engage in team-building, and participate in a time of spiritual refreshment.
Certainly, God was present with us! I am reminded of Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (NIV). Not only was much journal work accomplished, there was a sweet fellowship between dedicated Christian women, spiritual encouragement, devotions, shared meals, team-building exercises, and honest sharing about workstyles and personalities.
As a result of this retreat, editors will now follow a manuscript from submission to publication, allowing authors and editors a closer and more consistent exchange of information. Contributing editors will work directly with authors whose manuscripts have potential for publication to mentor them through the publishing process. This is a rare and valuable service that most journals do not provide, but one that should encourage new authors to submit to our journal.
Among additional activities, the editors are encouraging more educators and students to submit to JCN and/or become reviewers in an effort to engage a larger group in the work of the journal.
Lastly, we are pleased to welcome Elizabeth Johnston Taylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, as a contributing editor. Dr. Taylor is a well-published author and researcher. We are honored she will be lending her expertise, to JCN.
Please consider how you can become involved with JCN. Would you like to be a reviewer? Do you have an idea for a manuscript? We would love to hear from you. Contact us at mailto:[email protected]
Kristen L. Mauk, PhD, DNP, RN, CRRN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, FAAN
Senior Editor, JCN
Connect with NCF!
http://ncf-jcn.org/blog/
https://www.facebook.com/ncfnurses/
http://ncf-jcn.org/resources/ncf-connections
Spotlight On
The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the church at Ephesus:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Do we pray with hope and expectation? Do we ask to see with the "eyes of our heart" the inheritance and power we have as sons and daughters of God? NCF is unique as a professional nursing organization and as a ministry. God has been answering our prayers in a mighty way!
* Two new professional nurse groups are forming in Massachusetts, as well as in Illinois. These groups represent firsts for professional nurse groups in each state.
* Conversations about the possibility of beginning a professional nurse group have taken place with nurses from La Crosse, WI; Rochester, MN; Little Rock, AR; Houston, TX; and Cleveland, OH. God is moving in the hearts of nurses across the country!
* Outreach for a new student nurse group is being explored in Fresno, CA.
* God is taking nursing students to deeper places in their own faith as they participate in InterVarsity conferences and training events.
Your prayers make a difference! Please join us in praying for NCF. Access and download our monthly prayer calendars at ncf-jcn.org/resources/prayer-calendarrequests. You can share your prayer requests confidentially, and a team of nurses across the United States will pray for you in both your personal and your professional needs.
Thank you for praying!
Christy Secor, DNP, RN, CDWF
NCF Professional Ministries Director
JCN Problems?
NCF members who need help with their JCN print or online subscription should contact Lippincott Member Services at 866-489-0443 or mailto:[email protected].