Fellowship

God’s plan is to save a people not individuals - in order that those people may be with him and be sent out (Mk 3:14). Fellowship with other Christian doctors is vital in order that we can stir one another up to love and good works (Eph 4:12, Heb 10:24–25). If we are to be faithful to Christ in medicine as we face increasing need and growing pressure we first need each other. The fellowship functions of CMF are achieved primarily through our local groups, conferences and pastoral care programmes -and are highly ‘volunteer dependent’.

Currently we:

• Co-ordinate a system of volunteers including regional and medical school secretaries, member reps, student reps, pastoral care supporters and committee members.
• Run about fifteen national and regional conferences annually for students and doctors.
• Support local graduate and student groups with resources, speakers, literature, mailing, publicity, and through student and graduate field staff.
• Provide a membership database and answer telephone, postal and email enquiries from members.
• Produce a handbook and run a website providing information about key resources, people and organisations useful to help members fulfil their own individual calling.
• Co-ordinate a centrally run pastoral care scheme for PRHOs and SHOs.
• Provide email discussion groups for CMF student reps and international Christian medical students in 40 countries abroad.

• Develop more vocational training with PGCE approval on time and money management, career decisions, balance of work and family, practical ethical dilemmas, theology of work and practicalities of medical practice in the changing NHS.
• Extend the pastoral care scheme beyond junior doctors.
• Extend the membership to allow associate members from other health-related professions.
• Introduce more regionalisation (and devolution) of CMF activities with encouragement of regional groups to take more responsibility for regional initiatives.
• Introduce a more streamlined communication facility using email for graduate groups, regional secretaries and committee members along the lines already in place for student reps and committees.
• Create a ‘cyber-community’ with fuller information about people, projects and events on the CMF website, with appropriate discussion forums.
• Develop the general committee into a body which not only receives reports and votes in committee members but also plays a more active role in policy formation and injecting new ideas.

Evangelism

Evangelism in today’s multi-faith world is complex and involves real skill both to challenge the false beliefs that blind unbelievers and also to defend the Gospel as ‘true and reasonable’ (Acts 26:25). Specific training, often not well provided for in churches, is needed to share Christ sensitively and effectively with patients and colleagues, who may be from ‘other faith’ backgrounds, will probably never visit a church and may not hear the gospel at all unless they hear it from us. Apostolic evangelism involves sharing the gospel in words people understand, in an environment in which people feel comfortable and with the opportunity for discussion.

Currently we:

• Provide evangelism training at student (and graduate) level based on these principles through the Confident Christianity (CC) Programme on a triennial cycle (~60 day conferences since 1989).
• Provide specific training for students in witnessing to Muslims (~12 Ishmael Conferences since 1995) and other faith groups (3 Answering other Faiths Conferences since 1999).
• Provide CC evangelism training materials on paper and on website.
• Make speakers available for evangelism training and for dialogue supper parties/college breakfasts/university forums etc.
• Provide evangelistic tracts (Greatest Person), Books (Cure for Life) and study materials (CfL study guide).
• Encourage regional student and graduate groups to host their own evangelistic events.
• Run an email discussion group for students involved in Muslim witness throughout the UK and beyond.

• Involve graduate members more in evangelism and evangelism training.
• Continue the current three year cycle for CC and extend it to involve graduates as well as students.
• Encourage more development of the existing partnership in holding evangelistic training events with LCF, UCCF and other similarly motivated organisations as appropriate on a regional level.
• Encourage more events which fulfil the apostolic principles listed above (understandable language, safe environment, opportunity for discussion).
• Produce more evangelistic literature specifically aimed at doctors and medical students.
• Maintain a steady flow of articles on evangelism and apologetics in CMF periodicals to keep evangelism at the top of the CMF agenda.
• Maintain a list of members available to speak at evangelistic events.
• Encourage the appropriate and sensitive sharing of faith with patients perhaps by adapting the CMDA’s Saline Solution programme in a way that would be culturally appropriate to the UK.

Ethics

Cultural shift is leading us to a situation where the Judeo-Christian values on which traditional medical ethical codes have been based have been jettisoned - and humanistic ideas increasingly imposed. This provides a serious threat both to our more vulnerable patients (the handicapped, elderly, chronically ill, poor, children and unborn) and to our members who are experiencing pressure to conform to the world’s mould. These threats are going to increase in the coming decade and we need to be meeting them head on. We should meet the new ethical challenges both corporately and individually by promoting compassionate care for vulnerable patients and strong advocacy for fair treatment of both patients and Christian doctors within existing administrative and political structures (BMA, GMC, NHS etc). Our approach should be both incarnational and prophetic. We need both to model Christian compassion and to proclaim Christian values.

Currently we:

• Co-ordinate a Medical Study Group which discusses ethical issues and makes submissions to government and other official bodies.
• Contribute to media debate on ethical issues.
• Provide speakers on ethical issues for our own conferences and regional groups and for other organisations.
• Publish an extensive archive on ethical issues on our website and in our literature.
• Produce study materials on ethical issues for students.
• Provide an internet forum for members to discuss ethical issues.
• Have an official CMF rep on the BMA Students’ committee.

• Wider publication of our existing material on ethics.
• Development of a list of CMF spokespersons on specific issues.
• Media training events for members who are in a position to speak out on particular issues.
• Supporting and encouraging more concerted proactive lobbying by members through existing professional bodies such as the BMA.
• Developing further our already existing partnership with Christian groups like CARE, CBPP and the Christian Institute.
• Expanding our statement of values with policy statements on specific issues.

Student Support

Student Support has always has been at the heart of CMF’s priorities. Douglas Johnson, CMF’s first General Secretary, said that if CMF’s student ministry and literature are good then the fellowship will be strong. Today’s medical students are tomorrow’s doctors - and CMF’s future depends on nurturing the students who will lead it through the 21st century. Maintaining an effective student ministry means providing student staffworkers, student conferences (esp national), student publications and an effective student support and communication network of local reps and doctors. Evangelism must be at the top of the agenda.

Currently we support students through:

• Three regional student staffworkers and a relay worker, in West UK, Northern England and Ireland.
• An annual national conference attracting 350+ students and smaller regional conferences in Ireland and Scotland.
• Nucleus magazine quarterly.
• Evangelism training through Confident Christianity, Ishmael and Answering other Faiths conferences.
• Maintaining a support and communication network by post and email of 50 regional student reps and 30 medical school secretaries.
• A Student Co-ordinating Committee and Nucleus Editorial Committee.
• Providing information and preparation for student electives through correspondence, literature and electives days.
• An on-line archive of literature on Christian medical issues targeted at students.
• Student representatives on the BMA Medical Students’ Committee and ICMDA Executive.
• An annual student leaders’ conference for medical student group leaders.
• Providing speakers and local support and advice for individual student groups.

• Appoint a part-time Student Secretary to manage central student functions such as Nucleus and National Conference.
• Expand the regional student staff until we have seven part-time staffworkers (to include London (2), Scotland, and East England).
• Make more use of students to pilot specific projects in the fellowship (following the example of the website and pastoral care scheme).
• Look at the possibility of student scholarships and intercalated years in collaboration with part-time Bible College training.
• Increase international distribution of Nucleus and other CMF literature.
• Promote more international links through ICMDA and joint ventures with sister bodies abroad and with IFES-linked bodies. more support to medical school secretaries.
• Increase student involvement at all levels in CMF.
• Integrate the student and junior doctors’ ministries.

Literature

Christian Literature is vital for fostering maturity and discipleship but good Christian medical literature is absent in much of the world. CMF already has one of the largest archives of Christian medical literature - at a time when needs are growing, the world is increasingly speaking English and the internet is making the world a global village. As a fellowship of Christian doctors we need to take the lead in producing high quality Christian literature on medical issues to equip Christian doctors and medical students worldwide. Literature extends our influence far beyond our conferences and meetings into schools, universities and hospitals. This is a huge opportunity.

We already publish:

• Triple Helix for doctors (circulation 7,000 quarterly in 20 countries).
• Nucleus for students (circulation 4,000 quarterly in 40 countries).
• CMF News for doctors and students (6,000 quarterly).
• CMF Files on medical ethics for schools (7,000 quarterly now in 2,000 UK schools).
• An internet website: over 800 articles on-line; 400,000 visitors thus far (also on CD-ROM).
• A wide range of booklets and books on Christian medical issues.
• Conference tapes.

• Publish new books on Healing, Psychiatry and the Role of the Christian Doctor.
• Produce and distribute Russian and Spanish versions of Matters of Life and Death.
• Completely revise the CD-ROM in Spring 2002.
• Substantially upgrade our website.
• Translate our best articles into other European languages (especially Russian).
• Expand and update our tapes library with talks available on CD-ROM.
• Expand our schools’ ministry by targeting A level ethics curricula.
• Make more gifts of our publications to sister movements in developing countries.
• Appoint, in time, a publications secretary.

Mission

Medical Mission is crossing new boundaries in reaching more countries, through a greater variety of routes than at any time in human history.

As one of the largest and oldest members of ICMDA, CMF has a large and hugely privileged membership (in terms of high quality medical training, literature and material resources).

From those to whom much has been given much will be expected and this leaves us with an awesome responsibility towards those with health needs worldwide and to Christian doctors in less privileged countries.

We have a twin role here of mobilising and resourcing UK and Irish Christian doctors to serve the poor in developing countries (incl CIS and Eastern Europe) and of helping to develop and support sister organisations throughout the world.

We already:

• Support a part-time overseas support secretary and PA.
• Provide correspondence (incl email) and newsletter support for 200 missionary members.
• Regularly mail journals like Tropical Doctor, Medicine and Surgery to missionary doctors. Represent CMF on the ICMDA executive (see p5) both for graduates and students.
• Run an annual two week residential refresher course for missionary doctors and nurses in partnership.
• Host meetings for Global Connections and Voluntary Agencies, and Medical Advisers.
• Prepare students for electives with three electives days, literature and advice.
• Network regularly with other Christian organisations involved in healthcare mission.
• Sponsor overseas students to our conferences here and through ICMDA (200 in the last 10 years).
• Send six summer evangelistic teams abroad each year (through regional partnerships).

• Encourage and facilitate more CMF members travelling abroad short and long term.
• Encourage more regional adoption and support of ICMDA-linked bodies abroad.
• Seek to discover more of what CMF members are already involved in abroad in order that we might better support them and encourage similar initiatives elsewhere.
• Develop a mentor scheme for Christian doctors planning to serve abroad.
• Provide more advocacy for CMF members serving abroad and refugee doctors here.
• Co-ordinate specific funding for projects that spring out of the above (eg recent book gift to India).
• In time make the Overseas Support Secretary post full-time.