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Oaks of
Righteousness |
INTRODUCTION
In 1988, Gary and Carla Heese felt impressed
to work in missions and joined Youth With a Mission (YWAM). They began
working in discipleship schools in Kona, Hawaii. During that time, Gary
noticed the need for healing in some of the young people attending the
schools. They felt called to minister to those who were struggling with
the wounds of their past. They later took additional training in the
Biblical Counseling School through YWAM and worked in the counseling
ministry with YWAM for 3 more years, providing pastoral care and training
others.
They returned to Kansas City in May of 1993. A year later, their pastor
asked them if they had ever done any ministry for people suffering from
the effects of sexual abuse. The pastor said a woman had contacted him
recently. She had been abused in her past and even though she had
searched, she couldn't find the help she needed. She told him she had been
a Christian for 17 years. She had responded to numerous altar calls, she
had sought counseling, and she said "Isn't there any help for me?" The
pastor asked if there was anything Gary and Carla could do to help. They
began seeking the Lord and after three months of prayer, they presented
their church's leadership with a course outline. They wanted to offer a
course that was more general in nature and might benefit anyone. The
course was based on a culmination of select teachings from the counseling
programs in YWAM.
In the fall of 1994, they started the first Oaks of Righteousness Class.
The class brought significant relief for those who had struggled with
wounds of the past. The participants received a revelation of the Father
through the ministry of Gary, Carla and their team. The safe atmosphere
that was fostered there gave the participants the ability to allow their
walls to come down so they could receive healing.
Soon after their initial class, they found themselves with more people
than they could facilitate in their group. They began to pray about how
the class could be multiplied so others could find this same relief. They
began training others how to do this ministry. Since then, Gary and Carla
have started other Oaks of Righteousness teams around the Greater Kansas
City Area and they continue to mentor and train the leaders of those
teams.
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