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Care Ministry

Care ministry is a vital expression of the church’s calling to embody Christ’s compassion in the world.

Rev. Joy Dister-Dominguez

Director of Care and Healing

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, emphasized the importance of practical divinity, in which faith is lived out through acts of mercy, healing and presence. Cultivating a culture of care means equipping congregations to respond to the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of their communities with grace and intentionality. Care is an essential part in evangelism and hospitality, multiplying followers of Jesus through love in action.

Care ministry working together as a system may include, but is not limited to, hospital and home-centered visitation, prayer ministry, prayer shawl ministry, one-to-one spiritual listening, unhoused ministry, food and clothing pantry, mental health care, disaster preparedness and response, community care partnerships, LGBTQ+ ministry, and justice ministries.

Systems of care and healing within the church and community enable contextual ministry by equipped and resourced laity, in partnership with the clergy. With a team approach, we seek to cultivate caring congregations that reach beyond the church walls—meeting people where they are, offering spaces of healing and building communities of grace and hope.

Care and Healing Seminars

Over the past year and a half, Horizon Texas Conference has taken significant steps to strengthen care ministries across its churches. We’ve hosted numerous two-day seminars facilitated by The Caring Congregation with over 200 individuals from 60 churches receiving training in the fundamentals of care, healing and prayer. These sessions cover essential skills such as listening, visitation, boundary-setting, documentation and team development, while encouraging churches to evaluate and adapt their care systems to meet current needs. The goal is not to “do more,” but to be more effective—discerning what is fruitful in this season and faithfully responding to God’s call to cultivate a culture of care.

The conference is continuing to host trainings throughout 2026 including a Spanish-language care resources contextualized for Hispanic congregations. Whether a church is just beginning to form a care team or seeking to refresh and expand its ministry, these seminars offer a pathway to deeper care and healing in the church and community.

Resources

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