Care Team Ministry
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Care Team Ministry
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Care Team Ministry
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Background on Care Team Concept Development The Care Team concept involves organizing groups of volunteers from congregations or from the community, who work together as a team to provide support to a person or persons with ongoing needs. The Care Team concept was developed by Dr. Ron Sunderland and Earl E. Shelp in 1985 in Texas. Dr.Sunderland and Mr. Shelp worked with faith communities to provide compassionate care to people with AIDS--where needs for daily support were too great for a single caregiver to meet. Mr. Shelp is now President of Interfaith CarePartners, Houston, Texas. Many parishes have long ministered to ailing parishioners via “sick and shut-in” programs through volunteers from the congregation. In addition, many churches have established health ministries programs or parish nurse programs to reach out to members in many ways. The Care Team concept expands on these efforts and extends a congregation’s ability to reach out to vulnerable or frail individuals and those with functional limitations. The concept has been adapted in many congregational health ministries and parishes as well as other social service organizations throughout the U.S., especially in terms of outreach to frail elders. The Care Team model came to the Twin Cities through Lyngblomsten in St. Paul. By 2005, Lyngblomsten had worked with over 40 congregations around the metro area to help these congregations establish Care Team Programs. Lyngblomsten offered technical assistance to the Normandale Center for Healing & Wholeness in 1998 to develop its own Care Team program.
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