​​Principles & Practice of Health Evangelism
Appendix A

​Essential Elements in Health Evangelism

Textbook pages 279-283
These are the elements that optimize the evangelistic potential of a health program for leading participants to baptism and church membership These are the elements on which the Program Evaluation Form (Audit Tool, see Chapter 23) focuses.
  1. Located at the church location.
  2. Pastor's services are utilized.
  3. Church members are in a one-to-one relationship with participants. 
  4. Small group activities.
  5. Spiritual approach to behavior change.
  6. Prayer utilized as part of the program and daily home assignments. 
  7. Scripture utilized as part of the program and daily home assignments.
  8. Data is collected and analyzed to track spiritual and health variables. 
  9. Materials are scientifically sound and up-to-date.
  10. Follow-up intervals for over a year.
  11. Affordable for the church and very low cost for each participant.
  12. No commercialization of the program.
Proposed value of each essential element expressed numerically.

1. Program Location
  • 10.- All programs held at the local church 10
  •   5 - Programs may be held in the local church, but this is optional 5
  •   0 - Most programs are conducted in a secular setting 0

2. Pastor Involvement
  • 10 - Pastor involved in all sessions
  •   5 - Pastor occasionally involved or participation is optional
  •   0 - No pastor involvement
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3. Church Member Involvement
  • 10 - Church members personally involved in each session
  •   5 - Church members modestly or minimally involved
  •   0 - Church member involvement is not required
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4. Small Group Activities
  • 10 - Church members lead small groups each session
  •   5 - Church members involved in some groups
  •   2 - Small groups but not lead by church members
  •   0 - No small group activities in the program
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5. Spiritual Behavior Change
  • 10 - Jesus proclaimed as agent of change in each session
  •   5 - Jesus referred to in less than 50% of sessions
  •   2 - Program limited to “Higher Power” or vague “God” references
  •   1 - Only psychological measures for behavior change
  •   0 - No behavior change advocated

6. Prayer
  • 10 - Prayer planned for daily and tracked
  •   7 - Prayer recommended daily but not tracked
  •   5 - Prayer offered publicly and frequently during the program
  •   3 - Prayer in private before the program begins by leaders
  •   0 - Prayer is not designed into the program

7. Scripture Assignments
  • 10 - Scripture assigned for daily study and tracked
  •   7 - Scripture assigned but not tracked
  •   5 - Scriptures used during the program
  •   0 - No scriptures during the program

8. Data Collection
  • 10 - Data collected before, during, and after program
  •   7 - Data collected before and at last session only
  •   3 - Only registration data collected
  •   0 - No data collection

9. Scientifically Sound & Up to date
  • 10 - Data presented from sound peer reviewed literature
  •   5 - Some good data but some speculative or unsubstantiated data
  •   0 - Program based on anecdotal evidence or speculation

10. Follow-Up Activities
  • 5 - Follow-up for a period of one year
  • 5 - Follow-up done by church members
  • 5 - Follow-up done in participants’ homes
  • 3 - Follow-up centralized at the church
  • 2 - Follow-up centralized but not at the church
  • 1 - Follow-up by mail or phone only
  • 0 - No follow-up activities

11. Cost to each participant (Excluding lab work)
  • 10 - No cost to the participant
  •   8 - Cost less than $5.00 per person for the entire program
  •   4 - Cost $5.00 to $10 per person for the entire program
  •   0 - Cost more than $10 per person for the entire program

12. Commercialization
  • 10 - Non-profit or church operated program
  •   8 - Profit margin 10% or less of the cost
  •   3 - Profit margin more than 10% of the cost
  •   0 - Supplements advocated or sold during the program
  •   0 - Devices advocated or sold during the program

Scoring - The maximum possible score is 125 if a program is optimized for evangelism. The minimum possible score is 0 for a purely secular health education program or commercial services conducted in a public setting. 

Once this evaluation has occurred and an analysis has been performed, a ranking can be developed. The detailed analysis of each program should be made available to churches on request, but a simple ranking system could be used. This simple ranking of programs should be published so that churches that are considering conducting health evangelism can make a more informed decision about what kind of programs should be selected for their local church. An example of a simplified ranking system is presented here. 

General Ranking Categories:
  • Excellent – Incorporates all recommended elements that promote evangelism
  • Acceptable – Incorporates most recommended elements. 
  • Primarily Secular – Contains excellent information but minimal evangelistic elements
  • Not recommended – Not good science – minimal evangelistic elements

This process of evaluation and ranking should be performed regularly on an annual or biannual basis. Some programs will be modified by their authors/owners to better fit a more ideal health evangelism model, and this should be recognized by a change in the ranking of these upgraded programs. New programs will be designed, tested, and deployed. These should be promptly evaluated as they become available. Churches should be encouraged to conduct health evangelism programs that have been optimized for their evangelistic impact.
Refer to Chapter 23: Proposed Audit Tool for more details.