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Crossover Health Services
Crossover Health Services
by Dr. John Abraham
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We are committed to living out Christ’s compassion, dignity and healing in our community through healthcare.
My involvement with Crossover first began as a church member during my Family Medicine Residency Training with In His Image, in early 2011. I was newly engaged to Rebecca, a young woman that grew up in an urban church that intentionally sought to address issues of race and injustice in Chicago. We started attending Crossover Bible Church after some of our residency colleagues told us about it. At the time, I was already living in the Hawthorne neighborhood with a roommate, and my eyes were being opened to some of the areas of restoration needed in our community. I witnessed firsthand that despite the efforts of my roommate and I to have Bible study and mentor young men, the daily realities of their lives were more than we could handle in a few hours a week. Crossover had a God sized vision to comprehensively address disparities in education, housing, health, and other fruits of systemic injustice along with Bible study that I thought would be effective.
As a board member of CCI (Crossover Community Impact), I saw the Lord blessing the work of Crossover over and over again. It has been faith building to see the vision of CCI grow from PowerPoint presentations in 2011 to tangible efforts bearing fruits of restoration in 2021. It continues to leave me in awe of Jesus when I think of how He has brought the right individuals at the right time to develop the right ministries. This relatively small, young church in North Tulsa has already planted another church, New City Fellowship Tulsa, in my current neighborhood. That church planting was prioritized in the midst of all the needs is indicative that leadership knows this work has to be centered in making disciples of Jesus.
Dr. Abraham with his wife, Dr. Rebecca Abraham
Dr. Abraham with Crossover Health Services staff during a training class.
Dr. Rebecca Abraham, his sister and children.
While the ministry accomplishments are impressive, I think the people are what kept us in Tulsa. We felt welcomed as a newly married couple. Our church family loved us as we went through losses and as we welcomed our children. People from Crossover continue to be dear friends and sources of inspiration to us.
Because of Crossover’s impact in my life, I just started at Crossover Health Services as a staff physician. I am part of a team that loves our community and each other. My hope is that the care we give is saturated with the love of Jesus in such a way that people feel heard, seen, and valued. As we continue to build this trust with our neighbors, it is my desire that Jesus would be known more fully in our lives and in our patients’ lives.
In a recent encounter, I saw a person living with HIV that had stopped his life saving medicine. He told me he was frustrated that he did not feel that his concerns were being addressed at his previous clinic. He is not my first neighbor that has expressed this grievance with our medical system. I believe he was brought to our clinic by God’s hand at this critical time in which we may be able to reduce the chance of more serious complications and this encounter is a reminder of the vital work of Crossover in our community.
Dr. John Abraham is the newest Staff Physician at Crossover Health Services as of March 1, 2021. He is married to Dr. Rebecca Beran Abraham, and they are quickly approaching their ten year anniversary this July! They have three beautiful children, Joshua age 7, Jasmine age 5, and Annalise age 3, and they are all a part of the New City Tulsa Church plant in their neighborhood. Dr. Abraham is a constant reminder of God’s grace and his compassion reflects the very soul of Jesus.
To learn more about Crossover Health Services and its work to eradicate health disparities, go to www.crossoverhealthservices.org.
This article was written for the Spring/Summer 2021 Edition.
