Health Evangelism--A Case Study

I WILL not conduct another evangelistic crusade unless I combine the health with the gospel ministry." This statement is being spoken by more and more ministers in the Southeast Asia Union as they experience the blessings of holding health crusades. (Ellen White promises "precious blessings" to those ministers who combine the health with the gospel ministry.)

I would like to present a case history of a typical health crusade, one of dozens held throughout the Southeast Asia Union Mission, conducted recently in the city of Miri, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.

Miri is a town of about 20,000, majoring primarily in oil drilling and refineries. It is about 200 miles north of Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. There was no Adventist church in Miri. The groundwork for the crusade had been laid by our faithful colporteurs, and by contact with Voice of Prophecy students and graduates. The crusade team was made up of Pastor Chester Damron, Dr. Roger Heald, Pastor Jonathan Ng, and Pastor Patrick Ngau.

Believing that "it is impossible for men and women, while under the power of sinful, health-destroying, brain-enervating habits, to appreciate sacred truth," ¹ the team began early to help people realize the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, which is a very prevalent habit in the city. Just before and during the first week of the crusade, lectures on the harmful effects of smoking on health were given to approximately 3,000 students of the secondary school in the area. These lectures were received with a great deal of enthusiasm on the part of the students as well as the school administrators. Also, a Five-Day Plan for smokers was held during the first week following the regular meetings. About thirty smokers attended the entire five nights and all but one reported success in the battle to stop smoking. Many of the smokers came early to the regular meetings, so a close rapport was established be tween the two programs.

Overflow crowds of over four hundred squeezed into the Miri community hall for the crusade meetings. During the first week, the meetings began with a health lecture by Dr. Heald on the theme of "Better Living at Your Finger tips." The health talks led into a gospel presentation so that there was no break as Pastor Damron began his lecture. The minister and doctor worked hand in hand to present a unified gospel.

A friendly and informal atmosphere soon developed during the health lecture, as Dr. Heald answered various questions on healthful living. The health lectures emphasized the marvels of the body and the preventive aspect of health rather than emphasizing and giving treatment for specific diseases. They were designed to show a better way of life through good health habits. There was a free exchange be tween the minister and the doctor, one referring frequently to the other's presentation.

As we were dealing with a city in which Christianity was little known, a departure from the traditional sequence of evangelistic topics was made. The first week Pastor Damron concentrated on the fundamentals of salvation, of man's condition, of his need for salvation, and a presentation of Christ as the fulfillment of that need. An altar call was made, therefore, at the end of the first week for a commitment to follow Christ. After this commitment was made, the audience was then led into the various steps of the Christian life. Often at the close of Pastor Damron's sermon, team members felt the audience becoming unusually quiet and hushed as if by an unseen visitor. It was gratifying to see the Lord's Spirit at work upon men's hearts. At the end of three weeks a baptismal class of fifty-five was formed, and at this writing there is now a company organized in Miri, with thirty people in attendance each Sabbath.

There are some observations about this form of evangelism that need emphasizing.

First, it was felt that with the altar call coming early in the series a firm foundation was made for following further in Jesus' steps. Combining the health message seems to prepare the people to accept certain of our doctrines that are characteristically difficult to accept. For example, the state of the dead seems less difficult when people understand how the body is put together and how man receives the breath of life, God's own breath, which returns to Him at death, and that man is a whole entity rather than a compartmentalized body, mind, and spirit.

Second, the people were eager to come to the meetings each night to hear more of the health message in its relation to the spiritual, and the large amount of money often spent on gimmicks and gifts to get people to return was not found to be necessary.

Third, there was not the usual opening prayer, song service, and special music, although we always closed the meeting with prayer. Both the health and the spiritual lectures were presented from the very beginning until people identified the doctor and the minister as presenting the same gospel in different forms and from different aspects.

Fourth, while the guidelines given for conducting a Five-Day Plan stipulate that it should not be directly related to an evangelistic crusade, this precaution may not always apply to less sophisticated areas of the world. It is true that in many of our American cities people are sometimes frightened away from Five-Day Plans because it seems to them to be an Adventist gimmick used to lure them to a religious meeting. In less-developed areas, however, the Five-Day Plan has been used quite successfully as a part of an evangelistic crusade, and people who have just gained a victory over smoking are more receptive to listening to other phases of better living.

Fifth, in preparation for a health crusade, if it is to be a team program, the doctor should be able to contribute his ideas on the methods of evangelism and the presentation. There should be frequent counsel and consultation between the doctor and the minister. It should be emphasized, however, that the minister still has the ultimate responsibility and authority in conducting the crusade. The minister should be certain of his facts. Nothing seems to disturb a scientifically-oriented person more than to hear a distortion or exaggeration of facts. The doctor, on the other hand, should keep his presentation simple, easy to understand, and should not try to present too many facts in one lecture. He should present, generally, normal physiology and health principles and not become too involved in the area of pathology and disease. In other words, he is not holding a clinic for five hundred people or at tempting to diagnose or prescribe. The doctor should not be afraid to draw spiritual lessons from the physical laws of life. In this way there will be better integration between the doctor and minister presentation.

Finally, the ideal combination in health evangelism is a minister with a physician or other health professional. The absence of a doctor, however, does not preclude a minister's doing health evangelism. Any minister with careful preparation and study can qualify as a health educator. The minister who is embarking on his own in health evangelism should prepare himself well by studying a good book on health principles, such as a college textbook on health. He should be thoroughly acquainted with the book The Ministry of Healing and the first three chapters of the book Counsels on Diet and Foods. As far as possible, he should read all of Ellen G. White's health classics. There are many articles in lay literature concerning the marvels of the human body; for example, The Human Body, published by Reader's Digest, American Medical Association publications, and others. The book None of These Diseases, by Dr. S. I. McMillan, is an exceptionally good book on the Bible's answers to the physical and mental ills of today's world.

There are indeed precious blessings for both doctor and minister as they blend their talents in presenting the love of God to a fallen world. "Much of the prejudice that prevents the truth of the third angel's message from reaching the hearts of the people, might be removed if more attention were given to health reform. When people become interested in this subject, the way is often prepared for the entrance of other truths. If they see that we are intelligent with regard to health, they will be more ready to believe that we are sound in Bible doctrines." ²