Three big obstacles in the way of ministering to hundreds of people, pastors, and churches in 2021 …

Recently I released Scott Free Clinic’s Annual Report for 2020 which tells the tale of this ministry serving on the front lines of delivering biblically-sound, clinically-excellent Christian clinical counseling and Pastor Care services to hundreds of people during 2020. In fact, in 2020 Scott Free Clinic ministered to twice as many people as we did in any previous year as part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the need for these and other services hasn’t abated thus far in 2021.

Now three months into the new year, the need for competent Christian counseling and Pastor Care remains high, and I anticipate there will be further spikes in demand for services as the year progresses. Specifically, it is likely that as we move out of the pandemic into the long-awaited “new normal,” there will likely be a spike in need for counseling as people wrestle with what the “new normal” should be and can be for them. After a year of self-quarantine restrictions, many people have made changes to their lives — from minor to major changes — and sorting out what changes to keep, what “old normal” things should be brought back, and how to move forward will be stress and anxiety-inducing experiences for many people.

To continue to be able to meet the needs for Christian counseling, Pastor Care, fitness consulting, consulting with churches and organizations, and other services, Scott Free Clinic must aggressively pursue three objectives so that we are able to operate and continue to help people change their lives. These three things are what we need YOUR help with:

1. We MUST upgrade our phone. For a couple of years, we have had an increasing need to upgrade our phone, which is aging and wildly over-used, but is an essential tool in our ability to provide our ministry services. The aging phone now often won’t fully recharge and takes a long time to do so. A new problem is the charge cord connection is becoming faulty; if it fails, the phone can’t be charged and our ability to provide services will mostly be shut down until the phone can be repaired or replaced — we need to upgrade to a new phone before that happens. We currently lease our phone and if we upgrade by entering into a new lease, the cost for the phone plus necessary peripherals would be about $700. Our preference would be to purchase a new phone with peripherals; doing that would allow us to get out of a lease and thereby reduce our monthly telephone expense by about $30 per month, which would be very beneficial for a poor, partially launched non-profit! The cost to purchase a new phone with peripherals would be about $1,400. Any help for either of these options would be greatly appreciated, as we MUST upgrade the phone as soon as possible.

2. WE need more Care Partners who consistently support the ministry on MONTHLY basis. Since the official incorporation of this ministry as a 501(c)(3) public charity and parachurch ministry more than six years ago, we have never had an adequate ongoing monthly support so that we knew we could operate at a minimal level every month. Having adequate monthly support will allow us to plan for and more fully execute ministry services rather than waiting to see what we can do any given month, or even if we can keep the phone on! We need as many people as are able to give on a monthly basis so we can stabilize and then streamline our ministry services. One option that makes this easy is when making a donation through our online portal on our website here, there is an option to set up automatic deductions to debit or credit cards so the donation is made automatically on the day of your choosing each month. It would substantially improve our ministry service to establish adequate monthly support.

3. The NEED for a temporary workspace. On four occasions through the pandemic, Scott Free Clinic lost its workspace with Wi-Fi access (and, thus, use of our laptop). It could still be a while until tight restrictions are lifted and we can regain our regular workspace with Wi-Fi access. In the meantime, we would like to rent a temporary office so that our ministry operations remain uninterrupted. Costs for temporary office rentals used to be very expensive in this area (the lowest was $75 per hour) but as a result of the pandemic, those costs have fallen dramatically … but temporarily. Right now, we could rent a temporary office space on a month-by-month basis for only $440 per month, however, a $880 refundable security deposit would be required. This would be a monthly expense over and above our regular monthly expenses. We don’t have ANY financial resources to meet this need (either for the monthly rent, or the refundable deposit). If we could get new support for this, even if just for a few months, it would enable us to stabilize and streamline our services for part of 2021 and help ensure we continue to deliver critically needed ministry services.

If you are able and willing to help us with any of these needs, you can make a donation TODAY and/or become a regular Care Partner with us directly from our website here, or you can text a donation to Scott Free Clinic at 619-314-6996. Scott Free Clinic is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity, therefore all donations are tax deductible.

There are TWO MORE THINGS you can do if you are willing to do so:

1. Pray for us! Prayer is foundational to all we do at Scott Free Clinic, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers, whether you pray for us occasionally, or if you would like to become a regular Prayer Partner with us you can find out how easy (but important!) that is by clicking here.

2. Share this post with others. Whether it’s with family, friends, your church, or others in your sphere of influence, we would appreciate your helping us share with as many people as possible these important needs of Scott Free Clinic.

If you have any questions about this ministry, you can email me directly at dr.scott@ScottFreeClinic.org.

Thank you!

In His Service.

Dr. James Scott, Jr.
Founder & President,
Scott Free Clinic