Three stories by Randy Porter
Encounter School teaches disciples to demonstrate power of prayer
(SNR) - The Encounter School of Ministry trains and equips its students to unleash the full power of the Word through signs, wonders and healings.
That’s the way one of its students, Father Stephen Graeve, explained the Encounter School. Father Graeve, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Paul and St. Bernard in Julian, is one of five from Lincoln currently enrolled online in Encounter.
The others include Father Craig Doty, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Denton, Donna Saavedra from St. Peter Parish in Lincoln, Valentina Obafunwa from St. Michael Parish in Lincoln and Sister Serena Deters of the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln.
Drawing from Catholic heritage, the school seeks to teach, equip, and activate disciples to demonstrate the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in their sphere of influence, according to its literature. Its main campus is the Parish Life Center of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Brighton, Mich., where the school’s founders and instructors reside.
The school offers a two-year training program. In addition to its online classes, Encounter has nearly 20 satellite campuses, including one in Omaha. The school of ministry is open to Christians of all backgrounds.
“This is the first year Encounter has had an online school, which was providence because of the pandemic, and it has had students from all over the world,” Father Graeve said.
While each of the five studies the online classes on his or her own, they have met to discuss graces, Graeve said. They give glory to God for the amazing things He is doing in the Church.
They also want to teach people that miracles still happen, and all people can pray for physical healing, Graeve said. The Encounter school motto is, “Signs, wonders and healings aren’t the complete gospel, but the gospel is not complete without them.”
One beautiful story Graeve and the others wanted to share concerns the healing of Graeve’s father, Bill, business manager at St. Michael Church and School in Lincoln.
“It shows anyone can pray for physical healing and God may do it,” Graeve said. “That’s what my father wanted people to know.”
His father had fallen on the ice and re-aggravated his knee, the priest said. He suggested his father arrange to have Obafunwa pray for his healing. The result was his father’s pain level decreased to a “1 out of 10,” he ceased using a cane and can now exercise 30 minutes on the treadmill instead of 5.
“God doesn’t heal everyone who asks, but he heals nobody who doesn’t ask,” Graeve said. “My father asked and God healed!”
Father Craig Doty, who also is director, Lincoln Equipping Team for Prayer & Healing, said he is willing to share his own testimony after finishing the first year of the online Encounter School.
“I just completed the first year of the two-year online school,” Father Doty said. “I thoroughly enjoyed the first year and am grateful Encounter ministries has started a satellite campus in the area.”
Encounter School teaching is solidly rooted in the Catholic faith — in Scripture and in tradition, Doty said. The first year focused on “Identity & Transformation,” “Healing Ministry,” “Prophetic Ministry” and “Inner Healing and Freedom.”
Over the last four years he has been encouraged, formed, and empowered by the work of Encounter Ministries, which has helped him to know more clearly who he is in Christ, with His Spirit in him, as well as what it means to live a supernatural life of faith in Him, Father Doty said.
The school’s mission is much aligned with the mission of the Lincoln Equipping Team, teaching boldly and practically how to invite the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifest in the real circumstances of daily life, especially as the Lord calls us to reach out to broken hearts and to share His care and compassion with the people we meet, Doty said. Encounter Ministries and those they partner with are always teaching that Jesus did not come to establish a powerless church, and that we only need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, even if that makes us look foolish.
Encounter has helped him become more confident that the Holy Spirit is speaking to him and that God desires to work through him for the building up of the Kingdom of God, Doty said. In fact, he credits Encounter Ministries for helping him see that God actually makes the work of evangelization fun, despite the challenges.
Partnering with the Lord for evangelization means seeing His power at work in amazing ways that can seem almost unbelievable — at least, initially — but as we learn the Spirit’s promptings, he said, and become more obedient to them, we come to expect that God will work in powerful and undeniable ways, as He wills, to make His glory, love and mercy known to the people around us.
The teaching Doty has received through Encounter Ministries, he said, will help him build confidence in others, especially his parishioners at St. Mary and the Lincoln Equipping Team, that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is at work in them, and that they can expect and trust Him to do amazing things in their lives and in the people around them.
Valentina Obafunwa said the best thing about the Encounter School of Ministry is the excellent formation students receive each week on Catholic theology, prayer and how to live a vibrant Catholic life through exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
“Our classes are both theoretical and practical, and I love putting into practice what we learn each week,” Obafunwa said. “I also love that I am on this two-year journey with other Catholics around the U.S. and world, and we get to grow in community and faith together.”
There are various priests, religious and lay people in the Diocese of Lincoln and Archdiocese of Omaha who also participate in the school, she said. It has been a joy sharing this experience with them.
“Each week feels like a mini-Pentecost!”
Obafunwa began the online program in September 2020 and recently completed her first year.
“Throughout this program, I have been incorporating what I have learned through the prayer ministries that I am part of in my parish and in the diocese,” she said. “I also have been incorporating the process of prayer in my career coaching practice, Fiat Career Coaching, when I pray with the women with whom I work.”
In her first year, she felt her faith accelerate in ways she never could have imagined, the Encounter student said.
She grew in her identity as a beloved daughter of God, deepened in intimacy with Him through an increased love of the Scriptures and spending time with Him in adoration. She also learned how to hear God better in prayer and to pray more effectively for others.
“The most life-changing thing I have learned has been about the gifts all Catholics receive at our baptism and confirmation,” Obafunwa said. “We are each given charisms, or free gifts, from the Holy Spirit that enable us to live our daily lives in supernatural ways for the building up of the Church.”
For example, during the quarter of school on the gift of healing, students learned how to pray with others for physical healing and it was amazing to see the incredible miracles that God performed. She saw backs and knees healed, limbs grown and eyes restored.
She will never forget the healing of Bill Graeve.
Obafunwa and Joy Martin, another member of St. Michael Parish, prayed, asking God to heal Graeve’s knee. They met to pray with him, and in a matter of minutes, “God and our Lady healed him!”
He went from needing a cane to walking confidently up and down stairs. Within weeks, he began walking longer distances on the treadmill and continues to do well today.
“That experience and quarter opened my eyes to the authority that we carry as baptized Christians and the incredible power of God,” she said. “The same God that performed miracles 2,000 years ago is still at work today.”
The Encounter School of Ministry has drawn her closer to God, Obafunwa said. Being involved in it has brought tremendous healing and joy into her life, and she is forever grateful to be part of it.
Power of prayer helped minimize pain, improved healing in minutes
His walking cane is gathering dust in the closet.
At one time, however, Bill Graeve, business manager at St. Michael Church and School in Lincoln, relied on it. He was in pain.
“At that time, I did physical therapy and it helped a lot, but then in the summer of 2020 my knee started to hurt,” Graeve said. “For a long time I thought it would heal, figuring I had just tweaked it, again.”
Come fall, it was not progressing and getting worse, to the point that he began to use a cane to get up and down stairs and use the elevator at work. Some days when it really hurt, the business manager used a cane just to walk. Finally, in mid-January 2021, he went to a doctor.
Graeve had arthritis in the knee, and the only option was more physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around it, the doctor told him. The doctor also said
Graeve was working his way toward knee replacement surgery.
He began physical therapy, and it helped, but the throbbing pain would not go away. The pain made therapy difficult and it was tough to sleep at night.
Graeve told his son, Father Stephen Graeve, about the pain. Father Graeve recommended he contact Valentina Obafunwa to pray over the knee with another devout Catholic.
“I was skeptical that the praying over my knee would work,” the senior Graeve said. “I thought those things only happened hundreds of years ago, and were either done by, or to, saints — and I do not fall into either of those categories. I was amazed that it happened to me, and how immediate the relief was.
“There was no question, no lingering doubt, that miracles still happen. Oh me of little faith.”
That was Feb. 4. His knee does have arthritis flair-ups, which are slightly painful, but it’s not enough to stop him from normal activities. If he rides his bike, his knee will let him know when it has had enough. While he cannot ride as far as he did before the knee became painful, he has nothing to complain about compared to the pain he had.
Physical therapy at home helps ensure he can continue a normal lifestyle.
“I knew Valentina was a faithful Catholic, as I saw her at daily Mass,” Bill Graeve said. “When I reached out to her, she was open to it.”
She had another St. Michael’s parishioner, Joy Martin, also a faithful Catholic, join her as an intercessor. The three met after the 7 a.m. Mass. First, Valentina asked questions like a doctor, such as exactly where it hurts, describe the pain, and on a scale of 1 to 10, how severe was the pain.
“After that, she and Joy put their hands on my knee and instantly I felt a cold sensation on my knee,” Graeve said. “I’m thinking to myself, I do not recall her having a cold pack.”
He looked at his knee and there was no cold pack, just Valentina and Joy praying over his knee. He knew right then and there that he was the recipient of a modern-day medical miracle.
“Wow!” he exclaimed.
When they were done, Graeve walked up and down the stairs without the use of a cane, something he had not done for months.
“It totally blew me away, and still blows me away thinking about it,” he said.
However, Graeve believes both the power of prayer and modern medicine helped him, he said. Prayer was the catalyst, as it got him over the extreme pain.
With less pain, physical therapy became easier to do. Therefore, he increased repetitions making it more effective.
Equipping Team empowers Catholics to pray for healing each other
The Lincoln Equipping Team invites individuals who have a desire to join the team in its mission with a heart open to praying with others whenever the Spirit leads.
The Equipping Team is a prayer and healing ministry whose mission is to empower Catholics to pray for one another and discover the healing power of Christ in their lives. Led by Father Craig Doty, the team seeks to be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, to grow and help others grow in intentional discipleship, and to sponsor events that further the mission of prayer and healing in the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
Fidelity to Church teaching and diocesan regulations, as well as frequent reception of the sacraments are essential for team members and the team’s mission. This group was inspired by the work of the John Paul II Healing Center and the Day of Equipping workshop held in Lincoln in August 2017.
One Equipping team member, Shane Kennett of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln, said her involvement with the team began when she attended a Day of Equipping.
“Through prayer, reflection, and listening to the talks that were given, as well as having the opportunity to pray with others, I was steeped in the love of God the Father and reminded of my identity as His beloved daughter,” Kennett said. “This brought to light for me in a new way the reality that God speaks to each of us in very personal ways.”
His message and the sound of His voice are always of love, she said.
For her, being a member of the Lincoln Equipping Team has been an invitation to get quiet, become aware of the tender gaze of God the Father, bask in His love, listen to what He places on her heart and then reach out to share His love by praying with others.
“Many times, when people pray with each other, we pray for some kind of healing in their life to take place,” she said. “This could be any kind of healing, like physical, mental, spiritual, or even healing of relationships or memories.
“We all are in need of some kind of healing and God’s love heals,” Kennett said.
She has enrolled in the Encounter School of Ministry this fall, and encourages anyone who is thinking about it also to sign up, she said.
“I would also like to encourage people to abandon any reservations they might have about being prayed with by others,” the team member said. “Receiving prayer is like bring hugged by God.”
Father Doty said the Lincoln Equipping team hopes to help “equip the holy ones” (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12) in particular ways, especially by sharing the gift of intercessory prayer to help people in our diocese experience the healing and encouragement that Jesus desires for each of us, so that we are all the more free and fearless to know and follow the promptings of His Spirit within us.
Allowing ourselves to be led by God on a journey of healing and surrendering to Him with just a little courage, humility, and vulnerability is essential for us to experience the freedom, life, and joy that Jesus came to give us, Doty said. Healing and conversion of the heart leads to greater awareness and acceptance of our true identity as beloved sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father while, at the same time, leading us to be intentional missionary disciples of Jesus Christ and truly alive with His Holy Spirit.
“The seven sacraments are, thankfully and undoubtedly, the primary source of healing grace and strength offered to us every day, but the Lord also desires for His people to partner with Him, using the gifts and charisms He has given to them,” he said. “From the beginning the Equipping Team has desired to learn and grow in using the charisms of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church and to help others do the same.”
Team members understand intercessory prayer to be one of those gifts and the Equipping Team is committed to fearlessly praying with people as the Spirit leads, to share God’s compassion and His consoling and encouraging words with them, Doty said. With this mission in mind, the team has sought opportunities for formation in the gifts and promptings of the Holy Spirit.
In fact, over the last four years, team members have devoted much of their time and effort to organizing conferences in the area for the healing of the heart and understanding the gifts of the Holy Spirit. First, the first Day of Equipping in 2017 led by Bart Schuchts from the JPII Healing Center was the foundational event, but the team also has organized two other Days of Equipping. Second, members organized the School of Healing led by Encounter Ministries in June 2018.
The team also organized the Healing the Whole Person conference in July 2019 and the Undone Conference for Women in September 2020, both also led by the JPII Healing Center.
“Consequently, the team is grateful for the work that the JPII Healing Center has done in the area,” Father Doty said.
Team members were excited about the Unveiled Marriage Conference they led July 15-17, sponsored by the Office for Family Life. Several team members also have been participating in events organized by Encounter Ministries, including its online school of ministry, the School of Prophetic ministry, the Summer Intensive and the annual Encounter Conference.
“All those conferences have given great formation to the Equipping Team, and we are always looking for more events to deepen our understanding of healing and the gifts of the Holy Spirit for our own benefit and for others in the area,” Doty said.
However, more than ever team members have discerned a need to be more intentional in developing their apostolate in the diocese, and to provide more opportunities for others to receive prayer from our prayer teams. Most recently, the team has done this in two primary ways. Over the last several months, the team experimented with Zoom breakout prayer rooms where members discovered that God worked powerfully in the virtual world. They plan to offer more opportunities for people from across the diocese to receive and learn intercessory prayer from their homes.
Future dates for those are pending, but people can get updated information from the team’s Facebook page and by emailing the team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Team members also recently started “Fresh Fire!” in-person events at John XXIII Diocesan Center, which include adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praise and worship music, teaching, and intercessory prayer for those who would like to receive it. The remaining 2021 dates for Fresh Fire! are July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 23, Oct. 28 and Dec. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Another path under consideration by Equipping Team members is street evangelization through prayer — simply sharing, through intercessory prayer, the Father’s compassion with people they meet on the street. People who are interested in being on the Lincoln Equipping Team should contact the members by email.
“I mentioned at the beginning, the ultimate goal of our mission is rooted in Ephesians 4:11-12, but we hope to do it with Ephesians 3:20-21 in mind as well,” Father Doty said: ‘Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.’ Amen.
