“For more than 40 years, Ruthann Cannings has aimed to be in the right position to hear and obey God.
It’s not always been instant obedience, she admits, but during this time, God has steered her through a varied and fruitful ministry at Kensington Temple and in her own organisation, Arise Ministries.
Ruthann was nursing when she first heard God call her to this work.
“I had no desire to be in ministry at all,” she says. “But a week later, I heard the Holy Spirit say, ‘I won’t call you again’. I knew I could say no, but I chose to say yes.”
Ruthann joined the staff at Kensington Temple and it was not long before God laid another decision before her. “They told me they were looking for someone to pioneer a pastoral division and my name had been put forward.
“I shot out of my chair and said, ‘You’re nuts!’”
But again, she heard the voice of the Holy Spirit.
“He said, ‘service or not?’ so I said yes.”
Soon afterwards, God reminded Ruthann of some teaching she’d heard: ‘the church is a hospital for sick people.’
“As a nurse, this gave me confidence to set up the new pastoral division and run it as I would a ward; making sure sick people went home well.”
Understanding that her pastoral team needed to offer specialist counselling for different needs, including rape, abuse, marriage and divorce, Ruthann brought in experts to teach staff how to counsel in these areas. “The idea was to get people whole so they could be a blessing to others.”
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