What is this ministry about?
Health Ministries of the Pacific Union is a volunteer-led ministry that exists to equip churches and health ministry leaders with resources and provide training to help prepare members to use health ministry as a partner for evangelism.
Love
God has entrusted us with spreading His gospel of love. That gospel includes the wonderful health message, which will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our fellow man. What better way to care for and love someone than by giving them the tools to add 10+ years of life without the challenges of lifestyle diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and many others.
Because of this, community health classes continue to be a powerful ministry to reach the community in an area of genuine need and interest. We have found many physicians and scientists from the Adventist church and the community around us who are more than willing to help us present the amazing benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet and lifestyle medicine.
Serve
Since the very founding of our church, health ministry has been encouraging our members to live a longer and healthier life and be a service to others. We are the right arm of the gospel and work in partnership with evangelism, so we happily assist members, churches, and pastors. In 2019, more than 4,100 people participated in various programs, including nutrition and cooking classes, depression and anxiety recovery programs (DARP), as well as many health challenges and lectures.
Lead
Pacific Union Health Ministries has led out in training our church leaders to run a variety of classes such as addiction recovery, reversing diabetes, health coaching, and more. We evaluate programs that churches can use, and we support and encourage our conferences and conference leaders. We also work with pastors by offering advice on programs or ideas. We have a list of health resources that are sent periodically to conference health ministry leaders.
How can you get involved?
Anyone interested in being involved in health ministries can reach out Lorayne Barton, the head of Health Ministries for the Pacific Union Conference, at loraynebarton@mac.com. This year our focus will be on mental health, and we are currently developing materials to share with our churches.
So many churches have continued to love, serve, and lead during these trying times of the pandemic, and we congratulate them and those who have reached out to their communities with food distribution and many other loving acts of kindness. We hope to continue to keep health ministries as a top priority within the church!
In 2019, more than 4,100 people participated in various programs, including nutrition and cooking classes, depression and anxiety recovery programs (DARP), as well as many health challenges and lectures.
