Adventist Health Ministries : Ministry Description—Health Ministries Leader

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2 KJV)

Duties of the Health Ministries Leader

The ministry to which a person is called when he or she becomes the health and temperance leader in a local church can be described in the following ways:

1. Health Promotion. Keeping church members aware of the importance of health and educating new members on the significance of health and temperance is one of the major responsibilities of the Health Ministries leader. This responsibility may be carried out at every opportunity, but there is one week, the second week in October, that a special program and emphasis should be planned. The Health Emphasis Week is a unique opportunity to increase the level of awareness and practice of health principles in your local church. Ministry is most effective when there is adequate personnel and financial resource. Your church has an opportunity to encourage the support of the health and temperance work through the Annual Health and Temperance Offering. In some churches the offering is part of the combined budget. In others, a special offering is taken. The North American Division Health and Temperance Department prepares an informational brochure each year to help motivate giving. The date is the second Sabbath in December. The last Sabbath in February of each year is set aside to create an awareness of our health and temperance journals: The Winner for children, Listen for teens, and Vibrant Life for adults.
2. Continuing Health Education. There is a question asked in the New Testament, "How can they learn without a teacher?" This is especially true regarding the health education of new church members. The health and temperance leader is responsible for the health education of the new members in the Adventist Lifestyle. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Provide each new member with the pamphlet Good Health in One Package. This little pamphlet, available from The Health Connection Catalogue, explains the eight basic principles of health and temperance.
2. Invite the new church members systematically, for the first few months at least, to your home or to the church's fellowship dinners, to acquaint them with vegetarian food.
3. Loan or give them one of the Ellen G. White health classics, especially Ministry of Healing.
4. Ask them to assist your local church in outreach programs.
5. Invite them to training seminars on health ministry; invite them to camp meeting or other special meetings on health.
3. Committees. You are the chairperson of your local church Health Ministries committee, and a member of the church board and the Church Ministries Council. Your committee is the place to plan particular activities and events. On the board you will represent the interest of health ministry in the policy and financial decisions of the local church. If your church has a Church Ministries Council, you will coordinate your activities with those of the other leaders in these meetings to plan a comprehensive, balanced church program.
4. Program Development. It is your responsibility to take the initiative in coordinating the planning and organization of health screening and health seminars for the public. Everywhere Adventists are known as providers of stop smoking plans, cooking schools, and seminars on nutrition, heart disease, stress management, cancer prevention, physical fitness, weight control and the Bible basis for healthful living, as well as screening projects for high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and other health problems. Constant attention is given to these programs in the press across the United States and Canada. Major corporations and civic leaders often request the help of Adventist in these areas. Unless you bring together your committee and develop programs, then these will not be available in your community. You cannot do it alone, but you can recruit and coordinate a team that can make it happen, using the proven guidebooks and kits available.

Resource Materials

• Ministries of Health and Healing (1997, Health Ministries Department, North American Division) is the handbook for Health Ministries. Includes overall mission and objectives, and chapters on specific ministries. Available from AdventSource, 1-800-328-0525 and Health Connection at 1-800-548-8700.
• Health Ministries Update is the official newsletter of the Health and Temperance Department, designed for Health Ministries leaders at all levels and Adventist health professionals. Write to the NAD Health Ministries Department, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, or call AdventSource at 1-800-328-0525 to receive your copy.
• The Health Connections catalogue lists a complete line of resources for wellness, drug, and alcohol prevention. Call 1-800-548-8700 for a color catalog.
• The Ministry of Healing by Ellen G. White (1942, Pacific Press) is the most fundamental statement of the goals and methods of Adventist Health ministry.
• Compassion in a time of AIDS (1994, Church Resources Consortium, North American Division) is a resource manual available through AdventSource. Call 1-800-328-0525.
• Ministries of Compassion (1994, Church Resources Consortium, North American Division) is a handbook for inner city programs and social action projects. Available through AdventSource. Call 1-800-328-0525.
• Information about additional resources and answers to your questions can be obtained through the denomination's "help desk" by calling (800) SDA-PLUS. A number of helpful fact sheets can also be obtained on the Adventist Forum on CompuServe or through the Fax Plus automated fax-back system. Dial (800) 474-4SDA.