FARMERS do not sow seed and then forget the crop that they have planted, neglecting to water it, cultivate it, weed it, and harvest it. Whenever a farmer plants a field, he takes care of it and expects to get a harvest. Neither do farmers try to harvest a crop without doing any seed-sowing, cultivating, watering, weeding, and bringing the crop along to fruition. Yet, in our evangelistic work, we are very prone to either sow seed or run the combines without trying to nourish the crop along. True health evangelism should sow, it should cultivate, it should water, and finally, it should harvest.
We have this instruction from Ellen White: "Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow me.'" —The Ministry of Healing, p. 143.
Our usual evangelistic approach is to begin by bidding people to follow Jesus. In this way, we reverse the order that Jesus gave. We ask the people to make their decision for truth first, and then we mingle, show sympathy, minister to their needs, and win their confidence, or we neglect them altogether once they are in the church. This is one reason why we have such a problem with losses among those whom we win through our evangelistic endeavors.
Jesus' ministry was a threefold ministry of healing, teaching, and preaching. His ministry was not departmentalized, or segmented, but was a complete ministry to the whole man. His methods of training His workers incorporated two basic principles: teaching by actual demonstration, and the delegation of responsibility, represented by His sending them out to do the same type of work that they had observed Him do. The application of their learning paralleled the instruction they were receiving from the Master.
In our field schools of health evangelism, which we conduct in various cities across North America, we combine the training of church members and medical-missionary work in order to reach the people where they are and to bring them to a full knowledge of Christ and His remnant church. Through community programs we meet the needs of the people and draw them to the church. But if we stop here, our work is not going to be nearly as effective. If we can bring these interested ones into the homes of our church members, we will have a more effective and more lasting work. How can this be done?
Our approach is to send the health/Bible evangelist into the church nearly a year before the proposed health/Bible evangelistic series, to lay a good foundation. She does this by training the church members in effective medical-missionary work; this work is climaxed during the summer by the health/Bible series, which is designed to bring people to a complete commitment to Christ and His teachings.
One of the first things the health educator-Bible instructor does after arriving in the community is to contact all local agencies of such organizations as the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and the American Medical Association, along with the health departments of the local universities or junior colleges. She also contacts the mass-media representatives, such as newspaper editors, television managers, and managers of the radio stations. She mails a brochure to community organizations such as Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, PTA's, churches, ministerial associations, and other such groups, offering specific health lectures and programs at their luncheons or evening meetings.
At the same time, the church members are instructed how to take a health-interest survey of the community. This gives an interest list plus an understanding of the programs that they are specifically interested in, so that when these programs are con ducted, these people can be personally contacted and invited. The goal is for each church member to bring back 100 filled-out surveys. Ten percent of the people who indicate an interest in a program will actually attend. Therefore, if the member returns 100 filled-out surveys, we can expect that about 10 of these people will come to one of the programs they have indicated an inter est in.
As the health educator-Bible instructor initiates contact in the community, she also recruits staff from the local church. This includes all of the medically professional people such as physicians, dentists, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, dietitians, and other competent laymen who will serve in medical and secretarial roles in the various programs. This group is trained and unified by first conducting a "Heart beat" coronary-risk evaluation program for the church members. This accomplishes several goals: (1) it acquaints the church members with the health-education outreach so that they can intelligently invite friends, neighbors, relatives, and others to the community programs; (2) it gives the staff a chance to go through the program and work out any wrinkles before it is taken to the public; (3) it establishes confidence in the leadership of the program; (4) it motivates the laymen to healthful living, so that they will set a good example as non-Adventists are brought into the health-education programs.
Evaluation Session Held in Church
When the "Heartbeat" plan is incorporated in the program, church members contact all of those who indicated an interest in the coronary-evaluation program on the survey that was taken, and personally enroll them in the "Heartbeat" program. Newspaper articles, radio and television announcements, brochures and posters are all utilized to advertise the program. To cover the cost of the lab work and mate rials a $15 fee is charged, which also motivates the people to attend the group evaluation held in the local Seventh-day Adventist church. This evaluation is conducted by the health educator-Bible instructor, using some professional assistance.
In areas where it is difficult to do "Heartbeat" because of a lack of competent medical personnel, another pro gram called "Heart Chex" can be con ducted. This involves taking blood pressure, pulse rate, height and weight, and having the patient fill out a questionnaire that evaluates his risk of a heart attack. The "Heart Chex" pro gram is conducted free of charge.
After the evaluation session, people are directed into the Dietary Control of Heart Disease, which consists of four classes of instruction to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, thus reducing the risk of a coronary heart attack or stroke. The Dietary Control of Heart Disease classes culminate in a low-cholesterol, low-sugar meal served to the participants as an example of how good and tasty this type of food can be. In stead of serving a central meal in the church or the fellowship hall, the participants are invited to the homes of the church members. The church members, of course, are carefully trained. In each home the same meal will be served and the same instruction given.
By serving the meal in the homes of the members, with each home serving ten to twenty participants, depending on the facilities and size of the home, the laymen can establish personal contact and rapport with the people who are coming to the health programs. Such contact would not be possible in a larger program.
As the meal is served, the question, whether verbalized or not, that will come to the minds of the participants is, "How can I cook this way?" So the hostess of the home offers her home for a cooking school to teach the participants how to cook low-cholesterol, low-fat, low-sugar meals. Some of the non-Adventists will not sign up for the cooking school. But a host of other people will have indicated an interest in cooking schools on the survey that was con ducted by the church members in the community. These people can be contacted and enrolled in the cooking school, to replace those who have dropped out from the Dietary Control of Heart Disease classes. Thus, the number of people, instead of dwindling, is maintained or even increased by a carefully organized and planned program.
Church members participating receive instruction on Tuesday and con duct their cooking school on Thursday. The cooking schools are run one night a week for five or six weeks. This way, they are able to apply the instruction as it is received.
We feel that the best interests that are developed^ through our health-education endeavors are people who become personally involved with our church members. These personal relationships establish confidence and prepare the way for the reception of our doctrinal truths.
Based on the survey that was con ducted by the church members, the health educator-Bible instructor con ducts other health-evangelism pro grams in the church. These can include cancer prevention, physical-fitness pro grams, parental guidance, Wa-Rite weight-control programs, stress control, water seminars, Five-Day Plans, and other health-education programs in which a significant number of people are interested. The main source of contact for these programs is the survey that was taken by the church members.
The physical-fitness program consists of instruction given once a week, usu ally on Sunday afternoons, and then physical-fitness clubs are formed around the homes of church members who have a special interest in this area. These clubs will meet together three times a week either to run, jog, walk, cycle, or engage in other activities in which the group as a whole is interested.
All of the interests from the health programs—both those that are con ducted in the homes of the church members and those that are conducted in the church—are then channeled into a special series of classes entitled "Biblical Perspectives of Health." These consist of six class periods covering the Bible teachings on health and disease prevention. Special Mission Spotlight programs, which feature the health work of Seventh-day Adventists around the world, are also shown at these sessions to acquaint non-Adventist participants with the worldwide health-education work of the church.
These nondoctrinal classes on Bible health teachings serve as an introduction to Bible study and help spark an interest in further study of the Word of God. The people who attend are thus prepared to go from the health programs into a study of the doctrines of the Adventist Church.
"Keys to Health and Happiness"
The final follow-up stage of the year's evangelistic program is the "Keys to Health and Happiness" adult-education classes, which cover health and Bible doctrine. Health and Bible lessons, with 240 pages of instruction, have been prepared for this series. Each eight-page lesson has a test sheet for both the health component and the doctrinal component.
Health/Bible classes are conducted three nights a week for a period of ten weeks or a total of thirty classes. Every doctrine of the church is covered in the lessons and public presentations. It is during this final follow-up stage that the interested people are brought to a decision for Christ and for baptism into the Adventist family.
When the participants miss a class, that lesson is taken by a layman to the non-Adventist participant. Thus, every member of the church may become involved in the public meetings. Laymen are a vital part of the evangelistic team. Every non-Adventist who attends—whether from the health programs, or from the other advertising that is done in the community—is assigned to an Adventist layman who is responsible for him during the course of the entire series.
Experience with this program in several recent field schools has resulted in large numbers of baptisms, and helps us to realize why the Lord tells us: "The gospel of health is to be firmly linked with the ministry of the Word. It is the Lord's design that the restoring influence of health reform shall be a part of the last great effort to proclaim the gospel message. . . . Medical missionary work gives opportunity for carrying for ward successful evangelistic work. It is as these lines of effort are united, that we may expect to. gather the most precious fruit for the Lord." —Evangelism, pp. 515, 516.
