The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that ‘there is a proper time and procedure for every matter’ and that ‘the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure’ (8:5,6).

So often God guides through circumstances, opening and closing doors in his good time, and helping us to be wise in our plans and priorities. We have had a real sense of the Father’s leading over the last six months as the ‘roadmap’ has become more clear.

As 2003 dawned we planned to take on an Associate General Secretary, investigate a merger with MMA-Healthserve, take on more space in Partnership House, install a new database, increase our media involvement and bring in specific training for the integration of faith and practice. The total cost for this was to be £110,000 extra per year (on our annual budget of £750,000) so we looked to you, our members, to make it possible through increased giving by a fullmember subscription increase to £120 or £10 per member per month.

The first step on the path was our new constitution, which was accepted unanimously at the CMF AGM on 21 June. This enables us to formalise the direction we believe that God is calling us to take. It makes clear our new areas of focus in being a witness to patients, being a public voice for Christian values, becoming multidisciplinary in our overseas work and taking more responsibility for the growth of new Christian Medical groups throughout the world. Our revised aims are discipleship, evangelism , mission and proclamation as follows :

1. To unite Christian doctors and medical students in Christ, and to encourage them to deepen their faith, live like Christ, and serve him obediently, particularly through acting competently and with compassion in their medical practice .
2. To encourage Christian doctors and medical students to be witnesses for Christ among all those they meet.
3. To mobilise and support all Christian doctors, medical students, and other healthcare professionals, especially members, in serving Christ throughout the world.
4. To promote Christian values, especially in bioethics and healthcare, among doctors and medical students, in the church and in society.

Following this in July/August we are upgrading to Oracle, a ‘state of the art’ database system already used by over 70% of businesses worldwide. This upgrade will allow us to streamline greatly our membership system, improve handling of electronic correspondence, answer complicated queries, allow a transition to direct debit and online conference bookings, enhance considerably our ability to contact and link people and create an effective Christian medical cyber-community.

Next on the agenda is our proposed merger with MMA-Healthserve for which negotiations are proceeding amicably and are already at an advanced stage. MMA Healthserve, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, has worked closely with CMF for many years in mobilising Christian health professionals to serve Christ abroad. Our Overseas Support Secretary Peter Armon is jointly employe d by both organisations. Under the proposals existing MMAHS staff would join a new expanded overseas department within CMF, which would become multidisciplinary and there by act as a catalyst for those in professions allied to medicine to grow and d e velop their mission activities as well. The merger would bring considerably greater resources to CMF, and would simplify administration and cut duplication.

The timing of this merger, which both organisations are keen to complete, will depend on the availability of space in Partnership House. The ACC (Anglican Consultative Council), with whom we share the 5th floor of Partnership House, have signed a lease on another property in London and expect to be departing in toto around December 2003. We have long dreamt of several Christian healthcare organisations coming together to share space ‘under one roof’ and it seems this dream might now be coming true.

Allowing for the inevitable disruption and ‘bedding-in’ period for all these changes we would aim to have an Associate General Secretary in post by April/May 2004. This would coincide with the Saline Solution Roadshow on integrating faith and practice, which was piloted last year and is being trailed this autumn after adaptation to a UK context. It is envisaged that the new post will greatly enhance the pastoral support and encouragement of CMF’s graduate doctors, and especially GPs.

Alongside all these new developments we intend to keep developing all the good things we are already doing – the conferences, journals, regional meetings, student ministry, publications, correspondence etc. And we continue to press ahead with other recently launched projects which are drawing more people into the frame as staff or volunteers: our websites, new books, translations, media training, media involvement, summer teams, more support of ICMDA (especially in Europe) and networking at a higher level with more Christian organisations in the various fields of ministry we are involved in ethics, mission and evangelism.

This last year has seen possibly the end of the cloning debate, as science has proved the pundits wrong, but otherwise on the ethical front things look depressing with an increased push for euthanasia, gay adoption, the morning after pill, the legalisation of marijuana and so on. All symptomatic of a society and a profession turning its back on God. I believe that Christian doctors will face more persecution in the coming days and that it will primarily be in the areas of our beliefs about the uniqueness of Christ, sexuality and the sanctity of life. There is a real call for members to get more involved, being salt and light at all levels of society and in the profession.

There is much to give thanks for, but also much more land to be possessed as we move forward together in Christ into 2003/4.