Recapturing the Medical Missionary Spirit: An Advocacy for Seventh-Day Adventist Nurses as Tools for Evangelism in Ghana

Stella Appiah, PHDN, RN, FWACN

Abstract

Medical missionary is a unique way of spreading the Seventh-day Adventist message across the world by health workers. The Seventh-day Adventist Church knowing the importance of medical missionary work and the role nurses can play in this mission, has established schools of nursing to pursue the evangelistic agenda. However, it has been observed that the medical missionary spirit of the pioneers keeps dwindling in the church as the years go by. This article synthesis how the medical missionary spirit can be recaptured among Ghanaian nurses working in the Seventh-day Adventist health care institutions. Perspectives on nursing in providing spiritual care, the need for gospel workers by the church and the need to train nurses as medical missionaries have been well discussed. Recommendations on how to recapture the medical missionary spirit among Seventh-day Adventist nurses in Ghana have been provided.