Come forth and be healed
By Tom Paulu, The Daily News, Longview, WA (tdn.com)
Article printed 11/17/07
Wilma Cripe suffers from arthritis, she told the ring of believers surrounding her. "We need financial healing," she
added.
So the group of healers circled in closer to Cripe, touched her lightly and prayed earnestly, addressing the disease
itself.
"We cure you in the name of Jesus," said Jim Phelps, a minister and member of the prayer team. "You will leave this
body in Jesus' name."
After a few more minutes of fervent prayer, Cripe swooned and was gently lowered to the floor. The healers kept on
praying, and several minutes later, Cripe raised her hands and whispered, "Thank You, Jesus."
For the past month, scenes like this have been occurring regularly on Tuesday nights at the Rainier Assembly of God
Church.
"We've prayed for people who had five weeks to live," said Rocky Sandberg, one of the group's co-directors. "Three
weeks later, they went back to work."
Calling on the power of God to heal spiritual, physical and emotional pain is nothing new in churches and revival
meetings, but a non-denominational independent organization has helped the practice spread.
Seven years ago, an evangelical Christian named Cal Pierce started the International Association of Healing Rooms
in Spokane. There are currently 648 healing rooms in 38 counties in the world, according to the group's Web site.
Washington state hosts 28 such rooms, and the Rainier site is Oregon's seventh.
Rainier's healing rooms grew out of Kingdom Power Now Ministries, a local group formed in 2005 by four couples who
specialize in healing services.
Sixteen local people visited the Spokane healing room for training before setting up shop here.
Along with the Rainier Assembly of God, four other area churches are involved: New Horizons in Kelso and the New
Life Fellowship and the Columbia Heights and Abernathy Assemblies of God in the Longview area.
Eventually the group would like to have a non-church location. "We don't want to be denominational," Sandberg said.
He'd prefer "an area that isn't a church, where people don't feel they go to get a sermon."
Patients, as people who come for healing are called, are greeted in the Rainier church's lobby, where they fill out a
form telling whether they're born again and baptized and what their prayer needs are.
Patients are assigned to a team of four members who use Sunday School rooms decorated with Bible verses that
pertain to healing, such as James 5:15: "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well."
When Cripe and her husband, Cecil, entered one of the rooms, Phelps told them the team had already prayed over
their requests.
Cecil's prayer need was relief from a stiff back.
"We'd like to anoint you with some oil," Phelps said. "We think the Holy Spirit will show up."
Prayer team members knelt and touched Cecil Cripe's stiff joints. "We pray for his knee, Lord...the Lord says 'I'm
doing it for you because I love you so much," Phelps said, to a chorus of "Yes," "Yes."
When the prayers were finished, Jeff McCracken, director of the Rainier healing rooms, asked Cripe if there was
anything he could do better than before the healing session. Cripe bent over for longer than he could before, he said.
"Thank you Jesus," Phelps said. "You did it. We're just here with you."
Another patient that evening was Tricia Dill of Vancouver. "I'm born again and Spirit-filled," she told her healing team,
then described a long struggle in her marriage.
The four women on the prayer team anointed Dill's head with oil and took turns taking her hands and leading the
prayers.
"This is a new day and a new beginning," said Shirley Phelps, Jim's wife, who spoke in tongues during the session.
"It's going to be a new heart, a new ministry, a new marriage," Phelps said, while the other healers echoed, "alleluia."
When it was her turn, Shellie Jefferson added, "We just pray a blanket of forgiveness to well up in her."
Dill responded with "I choose to forgive, Lord."
"He's opened a door for you tonight in a transformation in your marriage," said Marlene Hughes.
At the same time, Dill's husband was with another healing team down the hall. Later, they prayed together.
Sandberg said that about half the people who come for healing have emotional issues such as depression, though
many others come with physical ailments or illnesses.
"Nobody's needs are too large or too small," said Ernest Frisby, a healing team member from Vancouver. "It's not just
physical healing but spiritual healing."
Patients at the Rainier healing room have to agree that they won't stop seeing a doctor or psychologist even if
healing seems to make them better.
"We don't want to give medical advice," McCracken said. "We believe that God's work will stand up to doctors'
scrutiny."
"We don't believe the power is in the prayer," Sandberg said. "We believe the power is in His presence."
Healing is not without its skeptics, within and without churches. Some conservative Christians believe God heals in his
own time and way, without help from prayer teams.
In one of the most extensive scientific studies in recent years, a Harvard Medical School professor found last year
that prayer had no benefits for heart-surgery patients.
Louis Korf, who's on the pastoral care staff at St. John Medical Center, said the results of prayer's effectiveness on
medical recovery are mixed. "They're probably something going on that has affected a person," said Korf, who's a
minister in the Christian Reformed Church. "It's hard to get exact empirical evidence."
Still, prayer can be a support tool in helping a sick person who's open to it, Korf said. "Prayer is an important thing
whether it's an emotional uplifter or something that's mystically going on," he said.
McCracken said he doesn't disagree that prayer is "a psychological boost."
"The proof is in the pudding," the healing room director said. "When you see someone's foot grow, how can you
argue with that?"
He was referring to Brittanie Fitch, an 18-year-old senior at R.A. Long High School.
Fitch was born with a club foot. During much of her childhood, that foot was 3 1/2 shoe sizes shorter than the other
one, she said.
In August of 2006, Fitch went to a healing service at the Rainier Assembly, which she attends. "My foot was curved in.
I had a hump on my foot," she said.
"A group of people put hands on my foot and just started praying. My hump fully went down and it turned my foot
straight and it grew," she said.
"I was overwhelmed. Very excited."
Though one of her feet is still shorter than the other, "after that I could run faster," Fitch said. "I'm still kind of
speechless about it. Pretty much God can do anything."
For Healing
The Lower Columbia Healing Rooms have sessions from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday nights at the Rainier Assembly of God
Church, 75950 Rockcrest Road, Rainier, near the foot of the Longview-Rainier bridge.
Prayer teams will go to the homes of people who can't come in, or to Community Hospice in Longview.
For information, call Rocky Sandberg at (360) 749-4015 or see kingdompowernow.com.
By Tom Paulu, The Daily News, Longview, WA (tdn.com)
Article printed 11/17/07
Wilma Cripe suffers from arthritis, she told the ring of believers surrounding her. "We need financial healing," she
added.
So the group of healers circled in closer to Cripe, touched her lightly and prayed earnestly, addressing the disease
itself.
"We cure you in the name of Jesus," said Jim Phelps, a minister and member of the prayer team. "You will leave this
body in Jesus' name."
After a few more minutes of fervent prayer, Cripe swooned and was gently lowered to the floor. The healers kept on
praying, and several minutes later, Cripe raised her hands and whispered, "Thank You, Jesus."
For the past month, scenes like this have been occurring regularly on Tuesday nights at the Rainier Assembly of God
Church.
"We've prayed for people who had five weeks to live," said Rocky Sandberg, one of the group's co-directors. "Three
weeks later, they went back to work."
Calling on the power of God to heal spiritual, physical and emotional pain is nothing new in churches and revival
meetings, but a non-denominational independent organization has helped the practice spread.
Seven years ago, an evangelical Christian named Cal Pierce started the International Association of Healing Rooms
in Spokane. There are currently 648 healing rooms in 38 counties in the world, according to the group's Web site.
Washington state hosts 28 such rooms, and the Rainier site is Oregon's seventh.
Rainier's healing rooms grew out of Kingdom Power Now Ministries, a local group formed in 2005 by four couples who
specialize in healing services.
Sixteen local people visited the Spokane healing room for training before setting up shop here.
Along with the Rainier Assembly of God, four other area churches are involved: New Horizons in Kelso and the New
Life Fellowship and the Columbia Heights and Abernathy Assemblies of God in the Longview area.
Eventually the group would like to have a non-church location. "We don't want to be denominational," Sandberg said.
He'd prefer "an area that isn't a church, where people don't feel they go to get a sermon."
Patients, as people who come for healing are called, are greeted in the Rainier church's lobby, where they fill out a
form telling whether they're born again and baptized and what their prayer needs are.
Patients are assigned to a team of four members who use Sunday School rooms decorated with Bible verses that
pertain to healing, such as James 5:15: "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well."
When Cripe and her husband, Cecil, entered one of the rooms, Phelps told them the team had already prayed over
their requests.
Cecil's prayer need was relief from a stiff back.
"We'd like to anoint you with some oil," Phelps said. "We think the Holy Spirit will show up."
Prayer team members knelt and touched Cecil Cripe's stiff joints. "We pray for his knee, Lord...the Lord says 'I'm
doing it for you because I love you so much," Phelps said, to a chorus of "Yes," "Yes."
When the prayers were finished, Jeff McCracken, director of the Rainier healing rooms, asked Cripe if there was
anything he could do better than before the healing session. Cripe bent over for longer than he could before, he said.
"Thank you Jesus," Phelps said. "You did it. We're just here with you."
Another patient that evening was Tricia Dill of Vancouver. "I'm born again and Spirit-filled," she told her healing team,
then described a long struggle in her marriage.
The four women on the prayer team anointed Dill's head with oil and took turns taking her hands and leading the
prayers.
"This is a new day and a new beginning," said Shirley Phelps, Jim's wife, who spoke in tongues during the session.
"It's going to be a new heart, a new ministry, a new marriage," Phelps said, while the other healers echoed, "alleluia."
When it was her turn, Shellie Jefferson added, "We just pray a blanket of forgiveness to well up in her."
Dill responded with "I choose to forgive, Lord."
"He's opened a door for you tonight in a transformation in your marriage," said Marlene Hughes.
At the same time, Dill's husband was with another healing team down the hall. Later, they prayed together.
Sandberg said that about half the people who come for healing have emotional issues such as depression, though
many others come with physical ailments or illnesses.
"Nobody's needs are too large or too small," said Ernest Frisby, a healing team member from Vancouver. "It's not just
physical healing but spiritual healing."
Patients at the Rainier healing room have to agree that they won't stop seeing a doctor or psychologist even if
healing seems to make them better.
"We don't want to give medical advice," McCracken said. "We believe that God's work will stand up to doctors'
scrutiny."
"We don't believe the power is in the prayer," Sandberg said. "We believe the power is in His presence."
Healing is not without its skeptics, within and without churches. Some conservative Christians believe God heals in his
own time and way, without help from prayer teams.
In one of the most extensive scientific studies in recent years, a Harvard Medical School professor found last year
that prayer had no benefits for heart-surgery patients.
Louis Korf, who's on the pastoral care staff at St. John Medical Center, said the results of prayer's effectiveness on
medical recovery are mixed. "They're probably something going on that has affected a person," said Korf, who's a
minister in the Christian Reformed Church. "It's hard to get exact empirical evidence."
Still, prayer can be a support tool in helping a sick person who's open to it, Korf said. "Prayer is an important thing
whether it's an emotional uplifter or something that's mystically going on," he said.
McCracken said he doesn't disagree that prayer is "a psychological boost."
"The proof is in the pudding," the healing room director said. "When you see someone's foot grow, how can you
argue with that?"
He was referring to Brittanie Fitch, an 18-year-old senior at R.A. Long High School.
Fitch was born with a club foot. During much of her childhood, that foot was 3 1/2 shoe sizes shorter than the other
one, she said.
In August of 2006, Fitch went to a healing service at the Rainier Assembly, which she attends. "My foot was curved in.
I had a hump on my foot," she said.
"A group of people put hands on my foot and just started praying. My hump fully went down and it turned my foot
straight and it grew," she said.
"I was overwhelmed. Very excited."
Though one of her feet is still shorter than the other, "after that I could run faster," Fitch said. "I'm still kind of
speechless about it. Pretty much God can do anything."
For Healing
The Lower Columbia Healing Rooms have sessions from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday nights at the Rainier Assembly of God
Church, 75950 Rockcrest Road, Rainier, near the foot of the Longview-Rainier bridge.
Prayer teams will go to the homes of people who can't come in, or to Community Hospice in Longview.
For information, call Rocky Sandberg at (360) 749-4015 or see kingdompowernow.com.
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