For volunteers serving at a recent Arkansas Baptist Medical + Dental Clinic in Alma, caring for patients meant more than providing free healthcare. It meant demonstrating the love of Christ through both compassion and conversation.
Hosted in partnership with First Baptist Church Alma, the July 11 clinic brought together 56 volunteers, including dentists, church members and other helpers, to provide free medical and dental care to underserved members of the community while creating opportunities to share the gospel.
By the end of the day, 76 patients had received care. Volunteers performed 95 tooth extractions and 33 dental cleanings, providing an estimated $47,500 in free services “made possible through the faithful giving of Arkansas Baptists to the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering,” the Arkansas Baptist News reported.
“We’re all involved here to try to take people out of pain and let them hear the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Rick Douglas, a volunteer dentist serving at the clinic.
Serving together
Douglas said the ministry is one his entire family enjoys serving in together. He, his wife, daughter, and two granddaughters were all volunteering at Saturday’s event.
His daughter, Jordan Malone, a member of Graceway Baptist Church in Bryant, said the clinics provide a unique opportunity to serve alongside her father.
“My dad and I don’t live near each other. Anytime there’s a free dental clinic, I get to meet him, or he comes to spend the night with me the night before, and we get to spend time together,” Malone said. “He taught me from the time I was born to serve and help others, and I’m just glad that I get to do it alongside him now.”
Malone said seeing the difference in patients after treatment reminds volunteers why the ministry matters.
“It matters because we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” she said. “Every time a patient gets up from a chair in all the dental clinics, I’ve ever been a part of the first thing they always say is thank you, and I already feel so much relief, and this is going to change my life more than you know. So just talking to the patients afterward is why it matters.”
Meeting physical needs, she said, often opens the door to conversations about faith.
“I think anytime you can meet a physical need before you, or even as you’re talking about their spiritual life, then that’s an important thing to do for people,” Malone said. “They’re more open to hearing about what we have to say about the Lord when we meet a need.”
Malone also encouraged Arkansas Baptists who may not have medical training to consider serving.
“I would say show up and plug in, and you will find they will find you a spot to help,” she said. “People have to grab patients from sign in and bring them to the X-ray, and then from X-ray to a different station, and you can interact with patients and improve their day just by being there and being a smiling face, welcoming them and making them feel comfortable because they’re about to have probably a procedure that they’re nervous about. It requires no experience to be a smiling face and a welcoming person to somebody.”
Douglas expressed gratitude for the generosity of Arkansas Baptists that makes the ministry possible. For more information about Medical + Dental Clinics, visit absc.org/medicaldental.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Arkansas Baptist News.
