AFCNA Facilitates Faith Community Care

♡ We promote compassionate, holistic health focused pastoral care in Australian churches
♡ We equip and support Christian people to care effectively
♡ We educate, facilitate and support Faith Community Nurses

What is Faith Community Care?

Faith Community Care (FCC) adds a health dimension to pastoral care by mobilising the gifts and strengths of local people to address contemporary health and social vulnerabilities such as sickness, ageing, chronic conditions, mental distress, loneliness, family and relationship breakdown, etc.

We seek to promote holistic health, prevent disease, injury and abuse, and provide compassionate and effective care to all. 

AFCNA prepares nurses, health professionals and lay workers to provide this care within their faith community and the population that community serves.

To achieve this vision AFCNA will:

  • equip you to bring effective compassionate care that promotes health
  • focus your learning on a Christian worldview of the whole person 
  • teach you strength-based methods that empower personal and community health 
  • develop your gifts using Christ-centred and evidence-based learning  methods
  • prepare you to serve to legal, ethical and professional standards 
  • connect you with others passionate about health and compassionate care
  • enable you to put your faith into action to effectively ‘love your neighbour’  and empower them to thrive 
  • if you are a nurse we will educate you for the Faith Community Nurse role 

About us

AFCNA is an incorporated professional association and a registered charity in Australia. We are a member of the Australian Council of National Nursing and Midwifery Organisations (CoNNMO). AFCNA commenced in 1996 to support the specialty of Faith Community Nursing in Australian Christian churches.

AFCNA prepares people of faith to provide compassionate care to the whole person (body, mind, spirit, relationships). In 2022 AFCNA expanded its vision to include the development of compassionate Faith Community Care, recognising a unique opportunity to blend the knowledge and skills of health professionals with people who have specific caring knowledge, skills and gifts, and/or lived experience.

How can I participate?

AFCNA wants to promote compassionate faith communities. We’d love to see every Christian faith community across Australia promoting whole-person health and providing effective, compassionate care to people in need within their faith community and the community they serve.

AFCNA can equip you to be compassionate, willing and able to effectively sustain, guide, support and care for one another via a ministry of Faith Community Care. 

We all struggle in different ways, but every person also has unique gifts that they can use to encourage and build up another person (Romans 12:4-6a NIV). The Bible says “Each person should use whatever gift they have received to serve others…”(1 Peter 4:10a NIV). It’s a big mission and a great commission to ‘love our neighbours’! We’d love to further equip you for that quest so you can become the change you want to see in your own community.   

The Faith Community Nurse role provides an opportunity to combine your Christian faith with your nursing knowledge and skills to effect healing, health and wholeness in individuals, families and your community. 

Start by asking God for direction and to open an opportunity to serve. Then inform yourself about the FCN role and discuss that information with key leaders and health professionals in your church to garner their support. Take the free ‘Introduction to Faith Community Nursing’ lesson and continue to pray about this call and see where God leads.

AFCNA is an ecumenical Christian professional Nursing association that commenced in 1996 to educate, facilitate and support the role of Faith Community Nursing in Australia.

AFCNA is a member of the Council of National Nursing and Midwifery Organisations (CoNNMO) in Australia, and an AFCNA board member attends the CoNNMO meetings twice per year representing Faith Community Nursing.

If you are keen to establish a Faith Community Nurse role in your local church to add depth, breadth and outreach scope to your health and pastoral care ministry we have good news for you.  AFCNA has done all the work to make this process as easy as possible for your nurse and your church.

AFCNA needs people to partner with us to share the vision and multiply the blessings! You can partner in several ways: become a member, become a donor, become a prayer partner, volunteer your skills, facilitate a chat.

Membership is a valuable partnership in advancing faith community care. It is ideal for all people interested in Faith Community Care, Pastoral Care, Faith Community Nursing, and all professionals working in faith-based settings. 

As an FCN I make a REAL difference in someone’s life right where I live – you can too!

As a Faith Community Nurse (FCN) in my church I care for people holistically – body, mind and spirit. Each person’s health is impacted by their relationships. Their relationships with God, with other people, and with the creation, therefore the support and care I bring considers those aspects as well. I begin by listening to what’s happening for the person. Once I have heard their story I offer to pray with them if they want this.

I provide various care services such as health counselling, 1:1 education about their health condition, support with navigating various care systems, and location of useful resources. I provide people with information and support so they can make informed decisions and take appropriate actions that will benefit their health and wellbeing, and where possible the family’s wellbeing.

God places us into community to “love one another” and in my FCN role I can “love my neighbour” in a meaningful and tangible way. I am part of the health and pastoral care ministry at my church. I bring a health focus that adds depth and scope to our pastoral care. I use my professional knowledge and skills to support many different situations for people of all ages in my church, and I also provide an outreach ministry to our local community.
Opportunities in the FCN role are vast and life-changing for the people we serve. I thoroughly recommend churches consider adding an FCN to their pastoral care ministry and experience for themselves the many benefits this role can bring to their community.

AFCNA invites you to be part of God's work in the world!

As a valued partner you will support AFCNA to engage, nurture, equip and network Christian people to provide compassionate and hopeful Faith Community Care and Faith Community Nursing.

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