• Home

Bernd Meier

Home exercise obesity public health religion Churches add fitness facilities as part of ministry outreach, community service; Louisville's Walnut Street church led the way

Churches add fitness facilities as part of ministry outreach, community service; Louisville's Walnut Street church led the way

Written by Unknown on 12:26 PM ,
More churches are beginning to see health and fitness facilities as potential ministry niches, which can positively influence surrounding communities. Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville was a pioneer, building a six-story health facility including bowling alleys in the late 1950s and early 1960s, church consultant George Bullard told Jeff Brumley of Baptist News Global.

Now health ministries have been "making a comeback as a variety of social and religious trends in America converge," Brumley reports. "There is absolutely an opportunity for new forms of church centered around fitness," said Travis Collins, the director of mission advancement and Virginia regional coordinator for Fresh Expressions US.

Creative Commons photo by jerronlife
Secular organizations that promote fitness often promote health-focused ministries and programs. For example, Houston-based nonprofit Health Fitness Revolution released a list of the 20 Fittest Churches in Texas. Samir Becic, the organization's founder, said, "Spiritual awareness is one of the key components of healthy lifestyle that impacts the whole body and rejuvenates the spirit." Many of the churches on the list have fitness classes, nutrition and senior programs and sports leagues. Some also have facilities for fitness and health.

Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta has a 70,000-square-foot facility with a indoor pool and track, weight room, cardio center and even personal trainers. The church website says, "It is our desire that all who use our facility or participate
in our activities will have the opportunity to hear that Jesus Christ loves them and desires to have a personal relationship with them," the church website says.

Besides building fitness centers, churches are promoting good health in other ways. "Another wave in recent years is that of church members, often led by pastors, uniting to lower blood pressure, drop pounds and tone up as a team," Brumley writes. Christianity Today reported in 2013 that churches from Indiana to Virginia were making fitness pledges, and 250 members of Central Baptist Church in Northern Virginia said they lost 12,000 pounds collectively. (Read more)
Tweet
Newer Post Older Post

Popular Posts

  • Lexington is considering whether to add electronic cigarettes to its anti-smoking ordinance
    The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will discuss whether to expand its smoking ban to include electronic cigarettes, possibly as earl...
  • As part of UK campus food deal, Aramark puts up $5 million for Food Connection, vows to purchase Kentucky products
    By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The University of Kentucky has entered a $5 million public-private partnership designed to promote ...
  • Heavy use of e-cigarettes may deliver big doses of formaldehyde, which can be a cause of lung cancer, study suggests
    Vapor produced by electronic cigarettes can contain a surprisingly high concentration of formaldehyde—a known carcinogen that can cause lun...
  • Ten common myths about diabetes busted
    Kentucky ranks 17th in diabetes, and many Kentuckians are newly diagnosed every year with the disease, usually Type 2 diabetes. The diagnosi...
  • Ky. ranks 8th in the number of high-prescribing Medicare physicians for powerful narcotic painkillers and stimulants
    Kentucky ranks eighth in Medicare physicians who are considered "high prescribers" of Schedule 2 medications, drugs that have the ...
  • Newport school board's smoking ban, which includes e-cigarettes, would be 38th among 173 Kentucky school districts
    The Newport Independent Board of Education  passed the first reading of a proposed smoking ban Wednesday, Jan. 28 after adding electronic ci...
  • Millions of children on Medicaid are missing free check-ups; Kentucky is a little below the national average
    Millions of low-income children across the country aren't getting free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid, and some ...
  • Obamacare seems to be no plus for Kentucky Democrats, perhaps mainly because of the word's first three syllables
    Though the federal health-reform law has helped cover more than half a million Kentuckians and cut the state's uninsured population by h...
  • McConnell seeks 'timely and fair review' of plan for Medicare coverage of CT scans for those at high risk for lung cancer
    U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell asked Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to "give a timely and fair r...
  • Research suggests eating only during a nine- to 12-hour time period can help maintain healthy weight
    For a long time, scientists supposed that eating after midnight was unhealthy, but now a study has provided support for the notion. When sci...
Bernd Meier © . All Rights Reserved. Powered by Blogger