A few weeks ago, while visiting my main supporting church in Michigan, I gave a presentation requesting continued support for the Set Free in Christ Institute. During the discussion, a church member asked me to explain something I had long taken for granted: What exactly do you do in deliverance ministry?
Deliverance ministry is a form of spiritual counseling that aims to set individuals free from the influence and oppression of evil spirits through prayer, discernment and the power of Jesus Christ. It differs significantly from popular portrayals of “exorcism” in the media. Rather than sensational displays, biblical deliverance ministry is rooted in Scripture’s teaching on spiritual warfare and redemption from spiritual powers, and it seeks holistic freedom—body, mind and spirit.
Biblical Framework for Spiritual Warfare and Redemption
Genesis 3:1-15; 4:6-7; 6:1-5
Joshua 5:13-15
Judges 2:11-15
1 Samuel 16:14-23
2 Samuel 22:1-20
Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; 33:14-18
Psalms 18:16-19; 20:1-7; 34:7; 91:1-13
Matthew 4:23-24; 6:13; 8:16; 9:35; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; 17:18-21
Mark 1:23-27; 3:22-27; 6:7; 9:25-29; 16:17
Luke 4:18-19; 9:1; 10:17-20; 11:24-26; 22:31-32
John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11
Acts 5:12-16; 8:5-8; 10:38; 16:16-18; 19:11-16; 26:18; 28:3-6
Romans 8:34, 39
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 4:26-27; 6:10-18
Colossians 1:13; 2:15
James 4:7
1 Peter 5:8-9
1 John 3:8; 4:4
Before and after becoming director of the Set Free in Christ Institute, my work has frequently involved coaching fellow missionaries who encounter cases of demonic harassment or oppression in their mission fields, as well as training pastors, elders and church members to respond biblically to demonic influence affecting church or family members. Together with colleagues engaged in this ministry, we prayerfully depend on Christ’s authority to set captives free (Luke 10:19). Our approach includes discerning spiritual dynamics—recognizing the presence, origin and purpose of oppressive influences—rebuking spirits through Scripture, and following deliverance with teaching, repentance and ongoing spiritual growth.
The following are two cases that illustrate my work in both in-reach and out-reach deliverance ministry.
The first involves a colleague missionary in Central Africa who contacted another team member and me for guidance regarding Patience (a pseudonym), a baptized Seventh-day Adventist experiencing escalating spiritual turmoil. Her symptoms included sudden personality changes, hostility toward her husband and auditory disturbances. Community members initially labeled her condition as a mental illness.
However, a deeper cultural and spiritual assessment revealed the presence of relational curses rooted in her mother’s frustration over ongoing financial conflicts. Her mother felt she was not receiving enough financial support from her daughter and, therefore, was not being honored—a traditional application of the Fifth Commandment regarding children honoring their parents (Exodus 20:12). As a result, her mother wished that Patience, too, would experience sadness or difficulty in her relationships, so that she might feel what the mother herself was going through.
For Westerners, it is important to understand that in many African spiritual traditions, parental authority is believed to have a profound spiritual impact, enabling the transmission of blessings or curses—a pattern well documented in African spiritual anthropology. This perspective views parental pronouncements, even those born of frustration, as having tangible spiritual consequences that can affect future generations.
Initial prayers that addressed only surface manifestations brought no lasting change. However, when Patience was guided through renunciation of familial covenants, followed by intentional discipleship, pastoral support and reinforcement of her identity in Christ to prevent re-entry, she began to experience sustained freedom—much to the joy of her husband and close friends.
The second case involves Marina, a South American woman in her late thirties living on the U.S. West Coast. She belongs to another Christian denomination and is the sister-in-law of a church member who attended a deliverance ministry seminar we conducted at the AFM Training Center in Berrien Springs. Marina displayed classic signs of demonic influence, including visions of hybrid beings and nighttime spiritual attacks.
Marina grew up in a neighborhood heavily influenced by occult practices. Nearby families were known locally for witchcraft and spiritism, creating an environment saturated with occult activity. At a young age, she experienced a disturbing spiritual encounter in which a boy appeared out of a swirl of smoke. Since that moment, Marina has reported persistent sensory assaults: whispered voices, chants, shadowy figures, sudden cold drafts, buzzing sounds, an oppressive sense of being watched and recurring visions of the same boy.
Our initial engagement with Marina also became a teaching opportunity for her brother-in-law, who had limited prior exposure to deliverance ministry. We adopted a coordinated approach that combined safety, biblical deliverance and holistic healing. We invoked the authority of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:17), applied Scriptures addressing spiritual resistance (Luke 10:19, James 4:7), and incorporated fasting and intercessory prayer, recognizing that the New Testament explicitly links certain forms of deliverance to prayer and fasting (Mark 9:25-29). As we continue ministering to Marina, she has already shown considerable improvement, even though the enemy is mounting increasing resistance.
In recent years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has taken important steps to acknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare and to affirm the biblical call to deliverance ministry. The inclusion of deliverance ministry in the Minister’s Handbook (2015) and the Elder’s Handbook (2016) reflects institutional recognition that this work is not peripheral but integral to pastoral care. Yet, despite these advances, many pastors, elders and lay members still lack a clear and unified understanding of what deliverance ministry entails, why it matters, and how it should be woven into the life of the church.
Deliverance ministry is neither a fringe practice nor an optional add-on. It is biblically grounded, missionally relevant and pastorally essential. As the cases of Patience and Marina illustrate, neglecting this ministry leaves believers vulnerable, drives seekers toward alternative movements, and weakens the church’s credibility.
May we, together, walk faithfully in this calling—trusting that the Lord who delivered those outside the covenant and the children of Abraham from demonic oppression (Genesis 15:1; Exodus 3:7-8; Psalm 34:17; Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38) is the same Lord who continues to deliver His people today through the authority of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:19; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 13:8).
