My First Hospital Visit in NYC

Of all the things I thought I would be doing in my first few weeks in NYC, visiting someone in the hospital wasn't one of them. But this afternoon I got a call from a friend who has a friend who has a relative in the hospital here in NYC. As I was taking the subway up to New York Presbyterian Hospital I thought back on how God has really changed my perspective on these types of visits.


When I was first getting started in ministry, I viewed hospital visits as a necessary evil. A part of the job I didn't really want to do, but had to do. However, God begin to teach me just how important this aspect of ministry is.

One day while making hospital visits in Albany, Georgia I was doing what I normally did, stop in, say hello, ask how they are doing and then pray for them and leave. A 5 minute visit was a long one for me. But this one day, an elderly lady asked me to stay and talk. She even offered me a chair, except the chair was her bedside toilet. Begrudgingly, I sat down and for the next hour God did a work in my life. I quickly realized that these visits were the highlight of this lady's day. The rest of her day was spent alone in an empty room. She had no family, no friends that were able to visit and no hope of leaving. In that hour, she shared with me about memories she had of her childhood, memories of her family and things that were concerning her right now. She never complained, she never wanted anything from me except for some companionship during a difficult time.

I left that room in tears. I was broken over the attitude I had toward hospital visitation for so many years. My heart was broken for this lady and thought that she would spend the rest of her day alone. I had gone from thinking how quickly can I get out of this room to thinking when can I come back. God had showed me a side of TRUE ministry that I hadn't seen before. It is easy to get caught up in the planning of events and services, the excitement of teaching and preaching to crowds, and the dreams of doing something big for God. But that day, God reminded me that true worship and true ministry is when we minister to the least of these.

The following day, even though it wasn't my day for hospital visitation, I decided to stop by and visit this lady of the way home. I wanted to give her another hour of my day. I got to her floor, walked down the hallway and into her room to find an empty room with a perfectly made up bed. Even my make shift chair was gone. I checked with the nurse and found out that she had passed away in her sleep the previous night. My heart broke with sadness. But God quickly reminded me of the reward she was experiencing at that moment. As I walked back out of the hospital I realized that I walked in that day thinking I was going to give that sweet lady something, but I now knew that she was the one that had given me an incredible gift, the gift of a better understanding of what it means to be a minister of the Gospel!

As my subway ride was approaching it's destination tonight, I was reminded that as exciting as it may be to plant a church in NYC and to dream the big dreams of what God could do, there is really nothing more important than ministering to the one that is need at that very moment. So it was with joy that I entered the hospital tonight and took the elevator to the ICU unit on the fourth floor. I realized that as busy as I have been making plans, God was giving me an opportunity tonight to be His hands, His feet, and show His love. I made a new friend tonight, his name is Paul. He was not able to speak to me, he was barely able to nod his head up and down to acknowledge an answer to my questions. But I had the privilege of praying for him tonight and spending a few minutes sitting with him. As I was leaving the nurse thanked me for coming and shared that I was the only visitor that had been to visit Paul.

Please pray for my new friend Paul. I plan to visit with him again. He is not doing well. And please pray that God continues to remind me of the true nature of our calling to this city and that He will continue to put opportunities to be the Gospel to the individuals of this city!