ABSTRACT
Hospital ministry, like any other field, is both art and skill. Most skills can be learned with motivation and practice. The art of ministry is often gained through exposure and modeling. Reflection on what one sees and experiences can lead to an internalized, and somewhat intuitive sense of the job. This chapter focuses on basic pastoral care skills. Every effort is made to make the chapter practical. Therefore, the chapter begins with what can be called commonsense care strategies and move toward more complex care functions, such as brief supportive counseling and crisis ministry. Each pastoral care skill area is identified with a statement about the skill and an example of how that skill is applied in a pastoral care moment. The reader is able to consider how strong he or she is in each identified skill.
