Hospital Chaplain Ministry Celebrates 40 Years

Pastor Paul and Violet Nelson have been ministers and shepherds to those suffering in hospitals, confined to nursing homes, suffering the loss of a loved one or simply just shut in at home, for the past 40 years. But all this wasnt Pastor Pauls plan...it was Gods plan. And He brought it about in His time and in His way, despite the pain and setbacks that at times didnt seem to make sense.
Indeed, in retrospect, events that at one time may have been perplexing have become crystal clear, as the big picture of Gods overall plan for the lives of this ministry couple have been revealed.
Theirs is a story of hope...and how even though things can sometimes seem lonely and depressing, Gods ways are higher than our ways, and He has a plan in everything that happens.
As a young man in his late teens, Pastor Paul was an actual shepherd, raising a flock of forty of his own sheep at his familys farm near Rush City, Minnesota. But the winter was difficult during his first year, and many of the sheep died.
In the midst of the loss of a large portion of his investment, God used His Word to comfort and direct Paul Nelson, by leading him to read the Scripture in John 10 that says, ...other sheep I have which are not of this pasture.
This was the turning point in Pauls life that led him to Free Church Seminary - the place where he met his wife, Violet. The two were married in 1948.
Upon graduation from Seminary in 1949, churches in Texas, North Dakota an ...