Speakers at the Samaritan’s Purse annual medical missions conference, Prescription for Renewal, encouraged healthcare professionals to serve for God’s glory.
The child was already in severe respiratory distress when she arrived at the hospital. The medical team at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya told the 3-year-old’s mother that they would do everything they could—but it didn’t look good.
Dr. Russ White, chief of surgery at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, encouraged those gathered to trust God’s faithfulness.
Dr. Russ White, chief of surgery at Tenwek, put a scope down the child’s throat three times and tried to remove the red bean that she had aspirated. Each time, she went into cardiac arrest and the team performed CPR. As Dr. White was preparing to open the girl’s chest in one last-ditch effort to remove the bean and clear the airways, “God clearly spoke directly to me,” he said. “God told me to try again. But this time, God said: ‘Let me do this with you.’”
The scope went down once more and found success! Before long, mother and child were reunited. “You have to know that Jesus Christ has given you your baby back—it certainly wasn’t us,” Dr. White told the mother.
Dr. White’s testimony was among numerous examples of God’s power and faithfulness that were shared during the 31st Prescription for Renewal conference held Sept. 15-18 in Orlando, Florida. About 800 participants, including many first-timers, gathered for worship, Bible teaching, and medical training. Among the attendees were Christian medical professionals who have served overseas in mission hospitals, as well as those seeking to learn how they can glorify God and serve suffering people through the medical ministries of Samaritan’s Purse.
Dr. White encouraged conference participants to step out in faith and to trust God even when they don’t know what the future will bring. “Where is He leading you?” he asked. “Are you willing to be vulnerable? Are you willing to persist despite fear and loss of control?”
Standing for Truth
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham kicked off the event with a challenging message from Daniel 3 about the steadfast faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When the three men refused to bow down and worship the golden image as commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar, he ordered that they be thrown into a furnace. Still, the men refused to worship a false god.
Franklin Graham addressed hundreds of healthcare professionals during the annual Prescription for Renewal conference.
“We live in a world that’s full of compromise—but they didn’t compromise. They stood for what they believed, even to the point of death,” Graham said. “We need to stand for God’s truth.”
God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire and used their unwavering devotion to Him to impact many lives for eternity.
“Those men changed a nation. They changed the heart of the king,” Graham said.
As World Medical Mission physicians travel the globe and meet critical physical needs, the priority must never shift from proclaiming the Gospel. “Wherever we go, whatever country we work in, we do it in the Name of Jesus Christ,” Graham said. “As long as we have our voices, let’s make it count for the Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Wherever we go, whatever country we work in, we do it in the Name of Jesus Christ.”
Later in the conference, Graham also led a conversation with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Franklin Graham hosted a time of question and answer with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo’s life changed when he became a Christian during a Bible study at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Since that time, he said that his commitment to God has remained the most important thing in life.
“You have all served in amazing ways. You are ready to take risks to serve others,” Pompeo told the audience. “But none of that service works without Jesus Christ as your Savior. Nothing we do on earth can be done without God guiding us.”
Pompeo thanked Samaritan’s Purse volunteers for all they have done to spread the Good News of Christ and to relieve suffering. “The hope of the Gospel will be upon you as you serve people who so desperately need it.”
Liberty in Christ
Dr. Chupp, CEO of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, also spoke at the event. Like Dr. White, Dr. Chupp has ties to Tenwek, which is one of dozens of mission hospitals and clinics where Samaritan’s Purse annually sends hundreds of volunteer Christian healthcare professionals to serve in Jesus’ Name. He served at Tenwek for 20 years.
The Tommy Coomes Band helped lead worship during the conference.
Speaking on 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Dr. Chupp reminded those gathered to always look to Jesus Christ for wisdom and strength. “You are not on your own,” he said. “God’s all-surpassing power should make you gasp.”
Dr. Chupp said that wherever believers go and however they serve, they must be willing to “die to self” in order to experience “true liberty in Christ so that His glory above all is shown.”
In addition to dynamic keynote speakers, the conference also featured inspiring testimonies from Post-Resident Physicians, short-term medical volunteers, and Disaster Assistance Response Team members. The Tommy Coomes Band and Dennis Agajanian led in worship.
Attendees praised the Name of the Lord for His goodness and love.
Our emergency medical response exhibit allowed participants to tour various components of our Emergency Field Hospital and learn how we have deployed this mobile unit all over the world during times of disaster and crisis. Most recently, we set up an Emergency Field Hospital and medical stations in Ukraine this spring to treat those displaced by war.
Our biomedical team also set up interactive displays and shared about the important role of technicians in operating and maintaining medical equipment in mission hospitals. They highlighted our innovative mobile labs, which provide Samaritan’s Purse capacity to perform advanced laboratory tests in the field.
Trusting God in the Darkness
This year’s Bible teacher was Skip Heitzig, founder and senior pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Heitzig compared times of suffering in a believer’s life to that of a photography darkroom. “You had to trust the process of development that you couldn’t see for some time. The darkroom became the place where art was created,” he said.
Pastor Skip Heitzig was this year’s Bible teacher.
Heitzig used examples from the lives of Joseph, Moses, and Daniel to illustrate how God is always at work for our good and His glory—even when it’s unclear how He will make beauty rise from the ashes of painful situations.
Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, accused of theft, and imprisoned. “Joseph did everything right, and everything bad happened to him,” Heitzig said. “But God was with Joseph.” He eventually delivered Joseph from prison and gave him such favor with the king that he rose to second in command.
“Why you are suffering is not nearly as important as how you are suffering,” Heitzig said. “God’s people are resilient. If you have fallen, you can get up. You can get back into the fight and into a meaningful life of service for His glory.”
In Matthew 14, Jesus walked out to His disciples on the stormy sea, which, at that moment, was the very thing they feared the most.
“Jesus comes to us in the same way—in the dark times and in the things we fear the most,” Heitzig said. “The image of God’s presence is developed in the dark room.”
Next year’s Prescription for Renewal conference will return to the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 14-17.
Prayer and worship are important to the annual event.
