Should Doctors Evangelise to their Patients?
A junior doctor’s reflections on sharing the gospel at work.
Issue 2 | October 2024I’m a junior doctor in my first couple years of work, but primarily, I am a child of God.
When I was first starting out in my role, I received a piece of advice from a seventy-year- old retired doctor. He told me, “You are not a doctor who happens to be a Christian — you are a Christian who happens to be a doctor.” He passed away from cancer two months later, but his words have had a profound impact on my life.
As a Christian junior doctor, the journey of intertwining faith with medical practice has been a challenging one. Often, when I tell people I’m a doctor, the response is something like, “Woah, you save lives! That’s awesome!” It’s true that prolonging patients’ lives is a huge privilege. However, that’s all it is — prolonging. I do not save lives. Jesus is the only one who can do that! Even if a patient who’d been suffering from a deadly illness walks away from the hospital in a healthy state, one day – sooner or later – they will return to take their last breath. The lingering question: Will they be ready to meet our Lord?
I’m a Christian. I just happen to be a doctor. And as a Christian, I have the life-changing, life-transforming, lifesaving news of Jesus Christ. How can I not share this? In Romans 1:16 Paul writes, ‘for I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.’ The medical world puts huge amounts of time and effort into researching ways to prolong life, and these developments are an incredible blessing from God. However, we have the means to fix all the problems in our world through the power of God — the gospel that brings salvation to those who believe. Isn’t that amazing? For those who aren’t doctors, you have a far better means than any doctor to cure anyone of even the worst illness - the power of the gospel. With this treatment, people can have eternal life!
Every time I see patients come in, particularly those who are near death, I can’t help thinking that what they really need is Jesus. My heart breaks to see people rejecting the gospel, or leaving without a chance to hear it. We should want to make every effort to spread this important message, like Paul, who laboured hard so that others could hear the gospel. As we see in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, he became ‘the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world,’ so that he might save people and live for Christ. I love being a doctor — not because of the pay, the hours or the prestige that people think it comes with. I consider this trash compared to the privilege of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). No, the reason I love being a doctor is that it presents so many unique opportunities to love people and share the gospel.
One way in which I approach spiritual conversations with patients is through the Te Whare Tapa Whaā model that we are actually taught in medical school. I can say something like, “In New Zealand we function under the Māori model of health, which includes physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. I see the admitting doctor forgot to ask you about this last one — do you have any spiritual background?” This leads to a variety of different faith conversations.
Most patients who come into the hospital are anxious about the uncertainties of their condition. Often, we have maximised the treatment and cannot provide any comfort, hope or even further pain management; they have come to the end of the line as far as medical solutions go. In this kind of situation, where something more than medical care is necessary, I often ask patients if I can pray for them. Frequently, both Christians and non- Christians will break down in tears as I do this, and it can often lead to further conversations or a referral to the hospital chaplain.
One situation that occurred recently concerned a woman who had been in hospital for months. Due to the seriousness of her condition, she faced the prospect of having to stay for six months more. She refused to engage with staff, and would often go missing from the ward for a few days in a row — only to return in critical condition from missing her treatment. I sat down with her one day after she had been told off for leaving again, and managed to get onto my classic line, “Have you got any spiritual background?”
She told me that despite growing up in church, she later became involved in an unhealthy relationship that led her away from the faith. She had children and relied on alcohol to get through abuse she experienced at home. At one point, she fell asleep with her newborn baby lying on her chest, and woke up to find the baby lying on the side of the bed, no longer breathing. At this point, she fell into depression and was unable to forgive herself, and now she found herself away from her children, slowly becoming increasingly sick with no hope of leaving any time soon. Pushing back thoughts about how late I would be finishing that night, and all the other work piling up for me to do, I asked her more questions to understand the situation; shared with her how Jesus provides for us; and prayed for her.
She broke down in tears, and told me that the night before she had been contemplating harming herself or worse. She had prayed “God, if you are real and care for me, give me a sign — or I’m done with this life.” It was only the next morning that God sent me to talk to her and give her that sign. I did not see a vision or hear a voice telling me to speak with her, but I was looking for opportunities to share the hope of Jesus with anyone I could, and after many failed attempts with other patients, had found myself at her bedside.
I have also had many opportunities to share about Jesus with my colleagues. Recently, after a long day at work, I thought I would sneak in a quick snack at the staff café, squeeze in an hour of gym, and then go home to cook dinner for my weekly Bible study. As I went in, I saw one of my colleagues and sat down with him, only to find out that he was meeting someone in the city in an hours’ time. An hour’s time to chat, I thought. I wonder if we can get to talking about Jesus. Goodbye, gym session! I mentioned I was going to have Bible study that evening, and asked if he had ever read the Bible himself. This led to a flurry of thoughts about a recent situation that had led him to look into spirituality and how he had been wanting someone to ask questions to!
Beyond specific conversations like this, simply identifying myself as a Christian has opened unexpected doors for sharing the hope of Jesus. Colleagues have approached me with questions about Christianity, or have shared their own spiritual journeys. These interactions highlight the significance of living out your faith authentically in the workplace, where genuine connections can foster trust and openness. My big realisation has been that unless we are praying for opportunities, actively looking for them, and being willing to take them up, there will be no opportunities. I certainly do not get them because of any special gift or calling. But the simplicity of obedience to God and His grace works powerfully.
In Colossians 4:2-6, Paul says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’ If we ask for, and look for opportunities, God will give them to us. Even simply identifying yourself as a Christian can create them.
Are you doing this in your workplace, no matter where that is? Do your colleagues not only know that you are a Christian, but can see that you live differently from them? Are you praying for your colleagues that, as Paul says, that God would open a door for your message? Friend, do not think that sharing the gospel is a role for those God has chosen to do so. He has chosen you, if you believe and trust in Him. In your workplace, this is your primary role. Not to calculate accounts, build walls, serve coffee, raise children, or write up contracts. Your job is to serve Jesus — you just happen to be placed in your particular job to do that.
I am not a doctor; I am a child of God.
The author of this article prefers to remain anonymous.