Leadership

I was feeling exasperated. “Just do something!” Wasn’t I paying this counsellor to fix my situation? To fix me? I also had similar sentiments about God. As a Pentecostal, I believed in a faith that worked. If it did not work, it was not worth much. I had been faithful. I had obeyed God, so why was God not intervening? Since God was not supernaturally intervening, God appeared absent.

As a Pentecostal, I cherish the experiences of God’s presence and His miraculous interventions. However, where is God when individuals experiencing extended suffering pray for Him to intervene, but He does not? Where is God when a survivor endures ongoing pain from sexual violence, and healing is slow to come? How are other Pentecostals to respond? Through my own painful journey and by learning from participants in two qualitative research projects, I now see that being present is supported by Pentecostal experiences, has a theological premise, and is a ministerial act of participation that is foundational for pastoral care.[1]

As implied, I had doubts about the power of presence. Therefore, I often felt responsible for producing healing outcomes when people struggled. I was prone to advise or educate, suggesting they read certain books. As a minister, I used Scripture to resolve people’s problems or to facilitate their healing. Other times, I told my story of overcoming a similar challenge. But then I experienced the upending of my life and the disruption of my theological beliefs. This placed me on the receiving end of such responses, and I experienced firsthand their unhelpfulness. But this is also when I discovered the healing power of a person being present amidst the apparent absence of God.

By experiencing the other’s presence, I realized that being present was an action—it was doing something. Experientially, I saw this to be true among Pentecostals. I learned from multiple participants that God’s intense presence engendered healing movement in them amidst their insurmountable situations. Although their difficulties remained, they experienced healing moments in which they sensed God’s love, peace, strength or comfort. At times, such moments transpired unexpectedly, such as during a church service or while being alone, and conveyed to them, “God is with me.” Their stories reminded me of my own experiences of God’s presence amidst impossibilities. This opened my eyes to the power of healing presence: even when a situation does not dramatically change, I change.

Theologically, I came to understand how God is present in His apparent absence, and ministerially, how I can participate in that ministry of healing presence. While there is an emphasis on encountering God in Pentecostalism, I heard that, to a certain extent, the onus was on me to experience God’s presence. Some clichés suggested this, such as “If God seems far away, who moved?” or “Let us praise God so that God’s presence will come down.” Thus, if I was not being healed or sensing God’s presence, God’s apparent absence was my fault.

But I then learned about the abiding presence of Jesus Christ that is right now healing humanity. This differs from Jesus’s healing ministry during His time on earth. He engaged in external actions that, for Pentecostals, are to be imitated. What I am speaking of is an internal, ongoing ministerial action that occurs within the being of Jesus, in which I participate. The theological concept of hypostatic union demonstrates this. It denotes that Jesus has two natures: He is both fully divine and fully human. Because both natures are within the person (being) of Jesus, the divine nature has a relationship with the human nature without any comingling. Through this relationship, the divine nature is internally healing humanity in Jesus’s being. That is, the divine nature is present with the human nature within the person of Jesus Christ. Now, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, humanity is caught up in Christ and is currently being healed by the divine, which is continually present with humanity.

This concept dramatically altered my relationship with God. I grasped that God is for and with me, being present with and healing me, even when I experience God’s apparent absence. This also suggests that when I am present for others, I am participating in Christ’s healing presence through the power of the Holy Spirit. Rather than the ministerial outcome being up to me, I am being invited to join Jesus in His healing ministry through my relationships with people by being present for them.

Participants taught me that being present is an act of ministry that does not assume that God is absent. On the contrary, it partakes in the ongoing healing presence of Jesus. Being present flows from the conviction that God is a minister who joins humanity in their impossibilities, ministering God’s healing presence in their darkness. This is evident when Jesus became human and joined humanity in death. For survivors of sexual violence, participants underscored that congregants are necessary in the healing journey, even if the survivor is seeing a professional counsellor. By being present, congregants are creating the much-needed safe spaces for survivors. One counsellor plainly stated that it was not the person’s efficient use of the Scriptures or eloquent words but a person’s presence that is a powerful agent of transformation.

Furthermore, being present does not preclude other traditional ways I offer pastoral care, but it is foundational. Too frequently, I speed ahead with a sense of urgency to produce a solution, such as by using Scripture. Unfortunately, this may inadvertently turn the Word of God into a weapon that generates more harm due to my failure to listen, wait and learn. The unintentional weaponization of Scripture may be particularly costly for survivors of sexual violence who have been manipulated, having experienced power over them, not with or for them. However, if I remind myself that there is no reward for speed and practise the art of being present, I become more available to hear what the Holy Spirit is already doing in me, in the other, and in the space between us. It is then that I may hear the Holy Spirit whisper words of knowledge or wisdom or guide me to speak a timely and healing word from the Lord.

Although being present may at times be personally challenging for me, I am committed to it. To this end, I remind myself daily: (1) I am a participant in Christ’s ministry; I am not responsible for the outcome; (2) there is no reward for speed; and, (3) every interaction today is sacred because the Spirit is moving in the other, in me, and dancing in the space between us, creating healing movement.

Pam F. Engelbert is a practical theologian and researcher/writer who is ordained with the Assemblies of God. She lives with her husband in Colorado, U.S.A. Watch this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXtBggZmAw8 or search for “Pamela Engelbert: A Pentecostal Perspective on Healing from Sexual Violence.” This article appeared in the April/May/June 2026 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2026 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photos courtesy Elizabeth Anderson. Photos © istockphoto.com.