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What is the Pastoral Medical Association?

The Pastoral Medical Association (PMA) is a private international ecclesiastical jurisdiction operating first and foremost under scriptural responsibility and authority, under constitutional protections that recognize and respect the  right of ecclesiastical entities to self govern, and, through recognition by an international coalition of ecclesiastical and secular bodies.  The PMA is established to restore, oversee and regulate the practice of pastoral medicine.

The organization was established in 2003 with a mission to provide health care practitioners with the opportunity for advanced education, clinical training and board certification in natural and indigenous medicines, for the purpose of restoring this rapidly disappearing form of health care, and to assure that effective and inexpensive health care options were available to the needy. The founders, with many years experience in medicine and missionary services, realized that the disappearing knowledge of self care leaves millions of people without any form of health care on the one hand, and at the mercy of conventional medicine; a complex and expensive modern day system that is not only beyond the financial reach of those same millions, but is more often than not, unnecessary "overkill" for routine and chronic health challenges.

While acknowledging that conventional medicine and surgery is unquestionably a blessing in times of emergency, trauma and advanced disease, we must also recognize that this system is suited only to wealthy secular societies, where the people have the option of casting aside self responsibility for their health, in favor of expensive office visits and long term medications that attempt to compensate the health challenges resulting from the toxic lifestyle inherent in a fast pace, "fast fix" society.

While it is true that modern medicine is a blessing, it is also true that it is highly abused where it is widely available. The result of such abuse is a medicated and dependent society that is unable to care for themselves and their families even in the case of routine ills, and who are completely defenseless when modern medicine breaks down.  Modern medicine and professionals trained only in modern drugs and surgeries are effectively "crippled" when disaster strikes, and diagnostic equipment, electricity, clean water and chemical medicines are unavailable. The many thousands upon thousands of deaths globally from natural disaster (even in developed nations such as the U.S) is evidence. 

With these significant factors at the forefront, the organization launched an inquiry into the viability of re-establishing the first health care system that operated to assist and teach people to care for themselves using time tested natural concepts and medicines. Thousands upon thousands of dollars and hours went into research globally, and the importance of restoring scripture based natural health concepts became unquestionable. Unfortunately, research also indicates that uninformed modern day promoters of natural medicine, (particularly in the U.S.) are trending away from the wise words of the Creator of natural, and toward a secular humanistic system that is fraught with legal difficulties and in-fighting between groups that are struggling for the right to practice a secular version of natural  medicine without oversight and practice standards, and those that are working to convert it to government controlled modern medicine with the inclusion of drugs and surgery. This chronic plea to secular authorities for recognition will ultimately lead to “recognition that the government needs to intervene” to mediate this chaos and for the protection of the public, and the "first" system of medicine, will be in danger of disappearing right along with secular versions, under a mountain of bureaucracy until it is just another spoke on the wheel of modern medicine. This is largely how osteopathy and chiropractic progressed to their current status as government controlled secular modalities. Unfortunately, this would leave the millions in need right where they are currently, without the knowledge, ability and safe substances to care for themselves.

In light of these truths, reviving scripture based natural health care was the clear and righteous choice, not only to protect these ecclesiastical rights, practices and substances, but to secure the rights afforded by global constitutions and the respect for the separation of church and state, for health care practitioners that need protection  for placing scriptural natural health concepts first in their practices, and reserving modern medicine for emergency issues.

By 2008 the organization began taking steps to realign as a recognized ecclesiastical entity, and began phasing out secular certification in favor of ecclesiastical training, commission and license of practitioners of scripture based health concepts. By 2010 the decision was made to more appropriately identify the organizational mission and services by changing to the “Pastoral Medical Association”.

Today, the

PMA “Board of Professional Regulation”, as a recognized ecclesiastical entity with jurisdiction over its members; oversees accreditation of educational programs, the ecclesiastical license of pastoral medicine practitioners, and establishes, administers and enforces the rules and regulations for licensees. PMA standards meet or exceed requirements for pastoral services globally, and meets standards that afford practice rights, and that exempt pastoral practitioners from state licensure in all U.S. States.

The PMA's authorizing documents are the statutes, board rules, administrative rules and formulary rules, and these documents may be viewed at links at the bottom of this page.

The Practice of Pastoral Medicine, Defined;

The practice of pastoral medicine includes:

1.     Promotion of the pastoral medical model which consist of providing pastoral services to individuals and groups in a non-public ecclesiastical venue under missionary service, through expressed private association; and which system includes counsel, education, instruction and assistance based on scriptural health science, Biblically valid scientific principles, laboratory wellness testing and PMA accredited computerized procedures; to establish and institute corrective measures, including the application of sacred natural substances, spiritual agents, therapies and prayer to ameliorate conditions and behavior that results in, or that may potentially result in dysfunction in the physical, mental and spiritual components of human health.

2.     is based on:

        a. a sincerely held belief in scripture as the inspired word for human physical, mental and spiritual health;

        b. scripture and scripturally valid health sciences;

        c. a systematic body of knowledge and principles acquired in organized study and  clinical training;

        d. the standards of ethics established by the PMA.

  The practice of pastoral medicine does not include;

1.     the diagnosis or treatment of disease as defined and regulated by governmental agencies, except in the case of missionary services provided under appropriate authority.

2.     the prescription or administration of controlled substances as defined by governmental agencies, or surgery, except in the case of missionary services provided under the appropriate authority.

3.     scientific, secular or other principles that are not scripturally valid.