Welcome to our series that spotlights NC Conference pastors serving in extension ministries. Read about other extension ministers as these stories are published weekly.

Rev. Toby James

Rev. Toby James is a deacon in full connection and a psychotherapist certified as a pastoral counselor in NC, which means he is trained to integrate patients’ spiritual lives into the therapeutic journey together towards consciousness and healing. He serves in extension ministry as Director of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Alliance Medical Ministry. It is a sacred encounter to hear the tragedy, pain, and suffering, along with the resilience, courage, and transformation that arise as folks share their life stories in therapy. Extension ministry gives him the opportunity to live out his calling in the world in a setting that serves the compassion and justice needs of the community, while providing him with a context that fosters his spiritual growth and highlights his need for God’s grace and healing through Christ’s humility and the urging of the Holy Spirit.

Alliance Medical Ministry

Alliance Medical Ministry is a comprehensive, whole-person, primary care clinic near WakeMed, at 101 Donald Ross Drive in Raleigh. Alliance serves 2,000 working, uninsured patients, and our typical patient is managing multiple chronic diseases while parenting two children on a limited budget. Patients are offered primary care, mental health care, spiritual care, dietetics, social work, specialty care through volunteers and access programs, and wellness programs that encourage preventative health through yoga, zumba, gardening, cooking, and walking classes. Our patients demonstrate and inspire perseverance, character, and hope on their health journeys, and Alliance serves the community by decreasing the negative impacts of using emergency departments for primary care. It is an honor for Rev. James to serve in an extension ministry, such as Alliance, where he bears witness to God’s grace and healing through increased access to compassionate care.

A Peace Building Ministry

By caring for patients who would not otherwise have access to affordable primary care, Alliance Medical Ministry increases health in our community, decreases health disparities, and demonstrates alternatives to a health care system that disqualifies folks based on insurance and/or ability to pay. It is an act of peace to extend health care to those in need, when our current health care system provides better health outcomes to those who are financially more capable, where citizens’ zip codes are determinants of their levels of health.