Welcome to the new Nurses Christian Fellowship International column! Here, you can find information about NCFI's activities, read NCFI narratives from around the world, and discover ways to connect with NCFI.
WHAT IS NCFI?
NCFI is an international organization with the purpose of connecting Christian nurses/midwives around the world, helping to equip and encourage them so they can live out their faith in clinical practice, leadership, education, and research.
NCFI's values of Integrity, Respect, Unity, Love and Equity, build on God's love and care for us, and his work through us, as nursing professionals. Many who have been involved in NCFI through conferences, courses, and workshops, or who have collaborated or networked with students or nurses/midwives in other countries can testify that these values are at work! In our diversity, we experience unity through Christ and nursing.
Through our international work, NCFI labors to achieve seven aims:
1. Encourage Christian nurses and nursing students to live out their faith in compassionate, professional practice.
2. Deepen the spiritual life and cultural awareness of Christian nurses and nursing students around the world.
3. Promote friendship, communication, connection, and collaboration among Christian nurses worldwide.
4. Support the ministry of regional NCFI councils and national NCF organizations.
5. Empower Christian nurses to examine and apply Scripture, as it relates to professional practice.
6. Equip and support the development of Christian nurse leaders around the world.
7. Represent Christian nursing in the global nursing and healthcare arena.
FROM THE NCFI PRESIDENT-TOVE GISKE
"I am a professor of nursing at VID Specialized University, a Christian university in Bergen, Norway. I serve as director of research and development, teach under- and postgraduate students, and conduct research. My nursing background is in hospital care. My passion is spiritual care. I have been involved in Norway NCF since 1982 and served in different roles, such as chairperson and the editor of our NCF newsletter. I also have had the privilege to serve at the NCFI European Regional Committee for 8 years.
My first NCFI experience was in 1984 at the NCFI international conference in New Delhi, India. I realized that NCFI is a unique fellowship where I could learn, be encouraged, share my expertise, make friends from around the world, and most important-gain insight in what it means to be a Christian nurse. It has been a great privilege to serve as NCFI vice-president from 2008 to 2016, and president since 2016 (until 2020)."
INTERNATIONAL BOARD
NCFI, made up of member countries, is organized in six regions: Caribbean & North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa; South Asia and Middle East; and Pacific & East Asia. NCFI invites nurses to international congresses every 4 years; regional conferences also are held on alternating 4 years, so that an NCFI conference occurs every 2 years. In 2020, the NCFI Congress will meet in Denver, Colorado.
Every 4 years, a new International Board is formed with three members from each region, one being the regional chair. Board members volunteer their time and expertise and work through eight different committees. Committees include:
The Executive Committee, nine members responsible for the daily operation of NCFI. We connect via internet video the 4th Saturday of the month, from Chile and Mississippi in the west, to Mongolia and Australia in the east.
The Prayer and Care Committee prepares, among other things, the NCFI Prayer Guide with international updates and points of prayer and praise. The prayer guide is an excellent way to keep up-to-date about NCFI and global nursing and to support the work through prayer. You can join nurses and be a part of a prayer chain that prays 24/7.
The Media and Technology Committee provides leadership and oversight for NCFI's communication through e-mail inquiries, the NCFI website, Facebook, Twitter, online newsletters, and promotional materials. Through social media, NCFI reaches all corners of the world.
Visit NCFI at http://www.ncfi.org to see what we offer. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/visit.ncfi, and be informed about what is happening around the world. Consider getting involved with NCFI!