Member Story: Monica Cook, Dewey, Arizona
When I was a little girl, my dad pastored a local church and my mom worked. I decided if I was ever married to a pastor, I would never work full-time—I wanted to pastor with my husband.
I did end up marrying a pastor and we now serve at a small independent church, Prescott Valley Vineyard Church. For him to pastor, I had to work.
One day, working as a nurse, a sense of regret came over me. I was working full-time so that we could have health cost support while my husband, Lloyd, was ministering without me. I thought, “Oh my goodness, I’m literally doing what I said I wouldn’t do. “
When our friends told us about CHM, it opened a door. With CHM, I have the freedom to walk alongside my husband and our ministry. I don’t have to go one way and he go the other—we can serve together.
I was nervous because I have a rare heart condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), which occurs when the muscle tissue dies and is replaced with scar tissue.
We found out about this because I kept having chest pain and passing out. I had all kinds of weird rhythms on the EKG. ARVD isn’t treatable, and you can’t medicate for it or operate. They diagnosed me on a Wednesday and by Thursday morning, I had a defibrillator pacemaker at work within me.
Lloyd and I were able to ask CHM very detailed questions. They answered all our questions and walked us through the bill-sharing process.
Even though I already had this condition, because it was maintained, CHM said they would help me by using its different programs for pre-existing conditions. Within four years of joining, my pre-existing conditions were eligible through the ministry’s regular sharing program.
Now that we’re CHM members, we have help with eligible medical expenses—and fellow Christians willing to share that burden with us. We help take care of each other. That’s the whole story of Christian Healthcare Ministries.
It takes a lot of weight off knowing that we have people around us who want to help and are willing to share in our stresses or struggles.
Through CHM, we’re investing in other Christian families who are then investing in other Christians. We’re a part of a family of God, investing in each other’s lives.
If God chooses to move us to a different location, it doesn’t affect us. CHM goes with us. Our decisions aren’t based on medical needs.
Because of the experience we’ve had with CHM, we want to give our staff an avenue to join CHM too. We want them to be free to serve God, just like we’re free to serve God.
So, if you’re a pastor and you have a small church, I highly recommend that you look into CHM for your own church staff. I highly recommend that every Christian look into CHM and ask the Lord: “Is this something for me?”
