Developing a Discerning Heart

January 28, 2020 | 3 minute read
Gaileen.cmacan

A journal is open to a blank page, and a pencil is resting on it

A woman sitting at a desk writing in a journal.When I was originally assigned to the Island, I was asked to be an advisor for leadership development. But I quickly became aware of a need among women on the Island, particularly first generation Christians who are dealing with trauma from their past. Some of these women were married to Alliance pastors and church planters.

I realized that many of these women needed healing and deliverance in their lives in order to be able to reach the women in their congregations. They also needed tools to minister to other women.

Before moving to the Island, I had become acquainted with Entrust Ministry’s Developing a Discerning Heart (DDH) course. This course was written by a woman, for women, based on the counseling material of Dr. Larry Crabb and Dr. Dan Allendar. I received permission, and a blessing, from Entrust Ministry to have the DDH course translated, and I have been using them on the Island ever since. The goal is to do the course in three phases, first with the women in ministry (Phase 1), then with key women leaders in the church (Phase 2), and then with lay women in the congregations (Phase 3). Women’s lives are being transformed through DDH and thA woman sitting at a desk writing in a journal.ey are finding freedom in Christ.

As a child Yanet was abused, alongside her five sisters, by her alcoholic father. She always questioned why this happened, and it wasn’t until she was married that she was changed through receiving love and understanding. She began feeling safer but, in her own words, “part of my heart was full of hate, pain, and loneliness. These things kept me from trusting people and sometimes from even trusting my husband.” It was during this time that Yanet was offered the opportunity to take the DDH course, but she rejected the offer. When a second opportunity presented itself, she agreed to take the course. Yanet began seeing how God was working in her life, she became more confident, and shared her story. Through this process, she experienced a total change of relief. She is thankful for the way God has set her free from her past through DDH.

Leya is another woman who took the DDH course and she said, “It helped me to gain victory over my fears, my mistakes, and showed me how to heal my wounds.” She continued, “This course taught me to open up to others and to listen; giving me the opportunity to be heard and to unburden myself, to reveal pain that had me in bondage to my past, even after being on the Father’s path.” DDH allowed Leya to take a 180 degree turn in her life. Through sharing her story, she was able to experience healing in her soul. Leya said, “Now I seek to discover what is behind the character of every person and often it is the story of a broken heart.” Leya experienced a transformation in the way she thinks, acts, listen, and talks. DDH changed her life forever.

Since 2011 we have seen hundreds of women, across the Island, be transformed through taking the DDH course. We now have three regional teams that are offering courses to help strengthen the women’s ministry on the Island. Our goal is to not only bring healing to the women in the church, but to reach out to women outside the church to win them to Christ and disciple them as well.

Pray for the women who take the DDH course, the women who have already completed the course, and the regional teams leading the courses.

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