You need deliverance, and you know it. You cannot find help locally and are desperate, at the end of your rope. Do you need to jump on a plane and go see somebody?
Until recently, deliverance ministry in the church has changed little since the times of Christ. You find a person who believed in casting out spirits, and you would ask for individual help. Itinerant evangelists would pass through town and initiate altar calls for afflicted souls to come forward for prayer.
Ministries have sprung up with varied approaches to moving in the commandment Jesus laid out in Mark 16:17: driving out demons was one of the signs to follow His believers. The “at-the-altar” style still prevails, and many practitioners relish the circus sideshow element which draws attention as demons manifest.
The ministry of deliverance gathers credibility when the crowd sees demons being cast out in dramatic fashion, with screams, shouts, and general mayhem.
Others use more peaceful approaches, relying on teaching and preparation before the actual session. The mechanics of ministry vary: including prayer, declarations or laying-on-hands and calling out demons. At Above & Beyond, we support this latter approach and use a five step process that takes place in a quiet and gentle environment.
While the methods may vary, the fundamental question is obvious: what is the fruit of the ministry? Are people being helped?
Internet Technology and Driving Out Demons
Some deliverance centers use the telephone with varying success, but the best environment is face-to-face, and this presents a problem when you cannot find help where you live.
Technological advancements offer new and exciting options to help people in all walks of life. Medical doctors conduct virtual appointments with patients, and it is easy to secure aid over the internet using webcam and web conferencing services. Christian counseling is catching up with other service industries, and deliverance ministry is tagging along behind.
You can almost feel like you are in the same room as the counselor, even though you may be thousands of miles away. Be encouraged: you do not have to wait any longer!
If you search for “Skype deliverance“, for example, you will find Above & Beyond near the top of a list of like-minded ministries. We’ve employed it successfully for years, and I assure you that you can get good results if you combine wisdom with a step of faith.
6 Steps to Prepare for Online Deliverance Ministry
- Do your due diligence on the skill and expertise of the ministry, just as you would for local services. You’re entrusting your emotional and spiritual health to someone so you want to be careful.
- Check out their website for staff experience and client testimonials.
- Once you’ve contacted the ministry, find out what technology they use. Some will use Skype or one or more web conferencing applications, including GoToMeeting, Join.Me, Clickmeeting or others. They should have options for Windows, Apple or Android operating systems.
- See if they are on YouTube, Facebook or other social platforms and prayerful consider what is there. If they are not, it is not necessarily a negative, but you will gather more data upon which to make a decision.
- Have a high-speed internet connection, a fast device (I recommend a tablet, laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone) and a webcam (audio and video) that is either integrated or that you purchase separately. Decent quality webcams can be purchased for ten dollars or less.
- Have someone else available during the deliverance ministry sessions. We believe it is an important safeguard that another person be with you, or at least nearby and reachable by cell phone, in case they need to intervene. It’s wisdom and provides security for you and the minister on the other end of the computer.
I started ministering in deliverance in 1998 and have been face-to-face with more than a thousand people in sessions. When I include individuals in our “Released to Soar” group Deliverance Seminars, the number increases to more than three thousand. I have conducted a handful of meetings over the phone, but like that format less because the visual element is missing.
It is important for the minister to see a person’s face because their expressions, eye movements, twitching and other manifestations provideclues about whether the demons are leaving.
Almost Face-to-Face
Webcam and Internet technology provide a close representation of a face to face encounter, which is why I am a fan and why we use it. People from all over the world seek us out, and we are blessed to be able to help them because of the available tools.
We are committed to training other counselors and ministers on how to drive out demons using our five step model. I am confident that we will also be ministering over the internet for years to come, Lord willing.
I’ve researched enough to know that our capabilities in this area will increase substantially. You’ve probably seen the virtual reality goggles that are starting to appear. Skype offers a “HoloLens” capability as an add-on feature.
HoloLens is essentially a holographic computer built into a headset that lets you see, hear, and interact with holograms within an environment such as a living room or an office space.
Technology companies are investing millions in research hologram technology. Holography is a photographic technique that records the light scattered from an object and then presents it in a way that appears three-dimensional.
The realism of long-distance encounters will increase and enhance the effectiveness because of the perceived intimacy. The closer we can approximate these encounters to face-to-face meetings, the more comfortable you, the client, will be.
Are you ready to make the leap? Geography no longer constrains your access to Christian counseling and deliverance ministry expertise. Do not despair if you are not a computer geek. The equipment is not costly, and most of the tools are quite user-friendly. Don’t delay; a new beginning awaits you if you open the door.
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