Mandate of the Christian Ministry
Motto: Always teaching, Preaching and Healing (Math, 4:23,24)
The mandate of the ministry of the Chaplaincy derives from the various passages in Scripture. Jesus told His disciples in Mathew 5:13-16 that they are “the salt of the earth… the light of the world.” His mission was to establish the Kingdom of God. This did not involve preaching only. It was a holistic involvement in the business of the kingdom. He commissioned the disciples “to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing… and teaching them to obey everything He commanded the disciples…” (Matthew 28:19 – 20). He demonstrated to the disciples how this was to be. He taught; he healed; he delivered, he reached out to the needs of the people… He had compassion on the people… (Mathew 9:35-38). So he was always teaching, Preaching and healing (Math, 4:23,24)
In Ezekiel 47:1-12 and related scriptures, the picture of “the River from the Temple” is given. The source of the river is the Temple and in Joel 3:18, the river flows “out of the Lord’s house”.
In John 7:37-38, Jesus is the source of the living water. The purpose of the river is to ‘water the vegetation’ (Ezekiel 47:7; Joel 3:18); to freshen (Ezekiel 47:8; Isaiah 35:7 and Isaiah 41:17-20); to bring life to living creatures; for fishing; for production of fruit trees and the leaves for healing (c.f. Revelation 22:2); as an anti-dote for curses (Rev. 22:3); for making glad the city of God (Psalm 46:4); for drawing water from the wells of salvation with joy (Isaiah 12:3); for quenching thirst (Isaiah 55:1; Mathew 5:6); as a source of wisdom (Proverbs9:5); and to become a spring welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).
The above imagery fits St. Luke’s Chaplaincy in its ministry to the Mulago Hospital and the community within and surrounding areas of the Hospital. It is therefore from the above imagery that the motto, vision, mission and strategy for the Chaplaincy are derived.