Principles & Practice of Health Evangelism
Chapter 9
Organizing a Health Evangelism Program
Textbook pages 61-73
Groundwork
If you are excited about health evangelism and wish to develop this type of outreach at your local church, start discussing with others in the congregation and see if an interest develops. Consider sharing this book with others to create a shared vision for health evangelism.
Explore health evangelism with the pastor. Have they ever conducted or participated in a health evangelism program? When was the last time? What role did they have? What was the result? Was the experience positive or negative? Would the pastoral staff be interested in having a health evangelism program in the present location? Would they help by giving a talk each session of the program? Would the pastor help promote the program in the church? The answers to all these questions are important before beginning to organize your health evangelism program.
If the pastor is supportive, consider approaching additional local church leaders to see if they would be supportive as well. Have a chat with the head elder, head deacon and deaconess. Talk with health professionals in the church. Have any of them ever taken part in a health evangelism program? Are they willing to help? Will they be able to give one or more talks during the program? Consider if church board approval is needed prior to moving forward.
Lastly, and I do not put as much emphasis on this as many do, find out what will be received favorably by the community. Some feel it is important to do a “needs assessment” of the community. If you do a door-to-door survey in any community, you will find smokers, sedentary people, overweight people, alcoholics, and people who need stress reduction.
If you have the time to do a community survey, please do one, but do not look upon surveys as being particularly important. Pick an established health evangelism program, or design one of your own, and offer it to the public. Your community is filled with people who need whatever program you can offer. A health survey might identify potential participants you can specifically invite to your program once it is organized.
After conducting the same program a few times, your reputation will be such that no further advertising will be necessary, and all your meetings will be crowded. Just choose something, get started, and do it. The public will come.
Explore health evangelism with the pastor. Have they ever conducted or participated in a health evangelism program? When was the last time? What role did they have? What was the result? Was the experience positive or negative? Would the pastoral staff be interested in having a health evangelism program in the present location? Would they help by giving a talk each session of the program? Would the pastor help promote the program in the church? The answers to all these questions are important before beginning to organize your health evangelism program.
If the pastor is supportive, consider approaching additional local church leaders to see if they would be supportive as well. Have a chat with the head elder, head deacon and deaconess. Talk with health professionals in the church. Have any of them ever taken part in a health evangelism program? Are they willing to help? Will they be able to give one or more talks during the program? Consider if church board approval is needed prior to moving forward.
Lastly, and I do not put as much emphasis on this as many do, find out what will be received favorably by the community. Some feel it is important to do a “needs assessment” of the community. If you do a door-to-door survey in any community, you will find smokers, sedentary people, overweight people, alcoholics, and people who need stress reduction.
If you have the time to do a community survey, please do one, but do not look upon surveys as being particularly important. Pick an established health evangelism program, or design one of your own, and offer it to the public. Your community is filled with people who need whatever program you can offer. A health survey might identify potential participants you can specifically invite to your program once it is organized.
After conducting the same program a few times, your reputation will be such that no further advertising will be necessary, and all your meetings will be crowded. Just choose something, get started, and do it. The public will come.
Announcing the Health Evangelism Program to the Church
It is usually most effective to make the announcement of your upcoming health evangelism program during a church service. It is helpful if the sermon that week focuses on healthful living and commitment to serving those in need. Ask church members to commit themselves to helping in the health evangelism program.
At the end of the sermon, ask for a show of hands of those who are willing to support the upcoming health evangelism program. Announce the time and place for the first organizational meeting. Follow this up with church-wide email invites/announcements and personal phone calls/reminders and/or text messages.
Now begins the “Gideon process.” Of all those who raised their hands at church, only a few will show up for the first organizational meeting. Once the details of the program are laid out, only a few of those who came to learn about the program will find that it will fit their schedule. As preparation continues from week to week, before your program begins, additional church members will drop out.
Do not be discouraged by the attrition of church members. It is much better to lose these volunteers from your program before it starts, than to lose them during the program. Any loss of church member helpers during the program is tragic. It leaves gaps in coverage of small groups and creates the impression of disorganization and even a “not caring” attitude on the part of the church.
I learned this lesson in a dramatic way early in my practice of health evangelism. I had the mistaken idea that church members were anxious to interface with the public. I thought all I had to do was to create the opportunity for fellowship, and church members would enthusiastically engage with the public who came for help.
The setting was a 5-Day Plan to stop smoking held in the gymnasium of the church school adjacent to the church. Two church members were located at each table where several smokers who wanted to quit were assigned. I provided the church members with no training and no materials. They were merely given the opportunity to be “buddies” with the smokers who wanted to quit.
On the second night several of the church member helpers were missing. By the third night no church members showed up to help. I hastily called a meeting at my home for the church members who were supposed to be buddies to find out what the problem was.
In answer to my inquiry a spokesperson for the group said, “You are the expert, doctor. People come to hear you. They don’t need us.” I suddenly realized that church members need to be trained to be helpers. This doesn’t come naturally to them.
I was the subject expert, but church members were the interface with the participants. From then on, I trained all volunteers and received commitments from them that they would participate and help those who came to each program.
At the end of the sermon, ask for a show of hands of those who are willing to support the upcoming health evangelism program. Announce the time and place for the first organizational meeting. Follow this up with church-wide email invites/announcements and personal phone calls/reminders and/or text messages.
Now begins the “Gideon process.” Of all those who raised their hands at church, only a few will show up for the first organizational meeting. Once the details of the program are laid out, only a few of those who came to learn about the program will find that it will fit their schedule. As preparation continues from week to week, before your program begins, additional church members will drop out.
Do not be discouraged by the attrition of church members. It is much better to lose these volunteers from your program before it starts, than to lose them during the program. Any loss of church member helpers during the program is tragic. It leaves gaps in coverage of small groups and creates the impression of disorganization and even a “not caring” attitude on the part of the church.
I learned this lesson in a dramatic way early in my practice of health evangelism. I had the mistaken idea that church members were anxious to interface with the public. I thought all I had to do was to create the opportunity for fellowship, and church members would enthusiastically engage with the public who came for help.
The setting was a 5-Day Plan to stop smoking held in the gymnasium of the church school adjacent to the church. Two church members were located at each table where several smokers who wanted to quit were assigned. I provided the church members with no training and no materials. They were merely given the opportunity to be “buddies” with the smokers who wanted to quit.
On the second night several of the church member helpers were missing. By the third night no church members showed up to help. I hastily called a meeting at my home for the church members who were supposed to be buddies to find out what the problem was.
In answer to my inquiry a spokesperson for the group said, “You are the expert, doctor. People come to hear you. They don’t need us.” I suddenly realized that church members need to be trained to be helpers. This doesn’t come naturally to them.
I was the subject expert, but church members were the interface with the participants. From then on, I trained all volunteers and received commitments from them that they would participate and help those who came to each program.
The First Organizational Meeting
Order is the first law of Heaven. Any task undertaken by the church should be appropriately organized with a careful distribution of labor. It is helpful to schedule the organizational meeting on the same night as the proposed program. This will automatically identify any scheduling conflicts among volunteers.
At the first organizational meeting about half the time should be spent in spiritual preparation. Have a short spiritual talk, perhaps relating to behavior change. This can be followed by a season of prayer. The last half of the meeting is spent on an overview of the proposed program. This is where you get down to the “nuts and bolts” details.
The number of small group leaders identified will give you an upper limit on how many participants can be registered for the program. If ten small group leaders are identified, this will give you five small groups. Limit enrollment to 6 community participants per small group. This would limit registration to the first 30-36 interests who call.
It’s helpful to have people preregister for a program by calling in their reservations or registering online. If the initial response is poor, additional advertising can be done before the program begins. After two or three identical health evangelism programs have been conducted, little advertising will be necessary. Word of mouth from previous participants will quickly fill all available slots.
The most important part of preparing church members to help in any program is their own spiritual preparation. I like to have church members read a passage in the Spirit of Prophecy before coming to each training session. A good first assignment is the chapter, “In Contact With Others” from Ministry of Healing pages 483-496. Reading assignments for church members may include the following:
There are hundreds of texts from the Holy Bible that can be assigned for study as well.
These reading assignments are not designed to provide technical or scientific training for the church members. These passages spiritually prepare church members for ministry.
Church members usually have better health habits than those who are coming for help. Church members quite naturally have a superiority complex about their own lifestyle and at times are a bit critical and condescending toward those who come for help.
To encourage empathy, ask church members as they read the assigned passage to identify that portion of their reading that gave them the most instruction or correction. They can share their findings with others at the next organizational meeting. It is heartwarming to see church members confess their hard heartedness and unforgiving attitude as these defects are identified by the reading they do.
Prayer is important in preparation. Prayer should be made for the Holy Spirit to identify people in the community who particularly need your program. The Holy Spirit can bring advertising to their attention. The Holy Spirit creates within the mind and heart a sincere desire to change. The Holy Spirit will bring to your program just those who will be benefitted by what you are offering.
Prayer also prepares members to participate in the program. Prayer gives your helpers a burden for souls. It creates a desire to be of service. Prayer softens words and attitudes. Prayer makes your helpers the attractive, loving assistants your attendees will need.
After the spiritual preparation of your church members is done for the evening, it is time to look at the program in fine detail. I list all the jobs that are needed to do the program effectively. Each job description should be presented and discussed. Church members who feel they can do a specific job can volunteer for that job. Keep track of who volunteers for what. In some cases, certain particularly well qualified individuals might be asked to help with certain positions to avoid unqualified individuals from volunteering.
Gradually, the roster of jobs is filled. In a large church some larger jobs can be further subdivided so everyone will have something to do. In smaller churches it may be necessary for one church member to do several jobs.
It will usually take three weeks of preparation to get all jobs assigned and a team to be built. I want to reemphasize that about half the preparation session should be spent in spiritual preparation. With careful preparation, when the program begins, you will have a united group of helpers who will be anxious to help those who come for help.
At the first organizational meeting about half the time should be spent in spiritual preparation. Have a short spiritual talk, perhaps relating to behavior change. This can be followed by a season of prayer. The last half of the meeting is spent on an overview of the proposed program. This is where you get down to the “nuts and bolts” details.
- Overview of program organization
- -- Time, location, outline of nightly program
- Finalize dates for program
- List job descriptions
- Make plans for advertising
- Identify number of small group helpers
The number of small group leaders identified will give you an upper limit on how many participants can be registered for the program. If ten small group leaders are identified, this will give you five small groups. Limit enrollment to 6 community participants per small group. This would limit registration to the first 30-36 interests who call.
It’s helpful to have people preregister for a program by calling in their reservations or registering online. If the initial response is poor, additional advertising can be done before the program begins. After two or three identical health evangelism programs have been conducted, little advertising will be necessary. Word of mouth from previous participants will quickly fill all available slots.
The most important part of preparing church members to help in any program is their own spiritual preparation. I like to have church members read a passage in the Spirit of Prophecy before coming to each training session. A good first assignment is the chapter, “In Contact With Others” from Ministry of Healing pages 483-496. Reading assignments for church members may include the following:
- “In Contact With Others,” Ministry of Healing 483-496.
- “Helping the Tempted,” Ministry of Healing 161-169.
- “Working for the Intemperate” Ministry of Healing 171-182.
- “Help in Daily Living” Ministry of Healing 469-482.
- “He Ordained Twelve” Desire of Ages 290-297.
- “Give Ye Them to eat” Desire of Ages 364-371.
- “The First Evangelists” Desire of Ages 349-358.
- “Duty to Preserve Health” Counsels on Health. 563, 566.
- “True Motive in Service” Mount of Blessing, 79, 101.
- “Medical Evangelism” Counsels on Health 503-508.
- “Religion and Health” Counsels on Health 28-31.
There are hundreds of texts from the Holy Bible that can be assigned for study as well.
These reading assignments are not designed to provide technical or scientific training for the church members. These passages spiritually prepare church members for ministry.
Church members usually have better health habits than those who are coming for help. Church members quite naturally have a superiority complex about their own lifestyle and at times are a bit critical and condescending toward those who come for help.
To encourage empathy, ask church members as they read the assigned passage to identify that portion of their reading that gave them the most instruction or correction. They can share their findings with others at the next organizational meeting. It is heartwarming to see church members confess their hard heartedness and unforgiving attitude as these defects are identified by the reading they do.
Prayer is important in preparation. Prayer should be made for the Holy Spirit to identify people in the community who particularly need your program. The Holy Spirit can bring advertising to their attention. The Holy Spirit creates within the mind and heart a sincere desire to change. The Holy Spirit will bring to your program just those who will be benefitted by what you are offering.
- “It is true that men sometimes become ashamed of their sinful ways, and give up some of their evil habits, before they are conscious that they are being drawn to Christ. But whenever they make an effort to reform, from a sincere desire to do right, it is the power of Christ that is drawing them. An influence of which they are unconscious works upon the soul, and the conscience is quickened, and the outward life is amended.” Steps to Christ 27
Prayer also prepares members to participate in the program. Prayer gives your helpers a burden for souls. It creates a desire to be of service. Prayer softens words and attitudes. Prayer makes your helpers the attractive, loving assistants your attendees will need.
After the spiritual preparation of your church members is done for the evening, it is time to look at the program in fine detail. I list all the jobs that are needed to do the program effectively. Each job description should be presented and discussed. Church members who feel they can do a specific job can volunteer for that job. Keep track of who volunteers for what. In some cases, certain particularly well qualified individuals might be asked to help with certain positions to avoid unqualified individuals from volunteering.
Gradually, the roster of jobs is filled. In a large church some larger jobs can be further subdivided so everyone will have something to do. In smaller churches it may be necessary for one church member to do several jobs.
It will usually take three weeks of preparation to get all jobs assigned and a team to be built. I want to reemphasize that about half the preparation session should be spent in spiritual preparation. With careful preparation, when the program begins, you will have a united group of helpers who will be anxious to help those who come for help.
Church Members and Small Groups
The key element of every successful health evangelism program is small groups. No matter who developed the health program you are using, and no matter how it was designed to be conducted, it is important to modify the program so that participants spend a substantial amount of time in small groups.
Small group activities should take from one third to one half of your program time. It is in small groups that specific problems are identified. It is in small groups that victories are shared. It is in small groups that the success of the program is realized.
Small groups should be led by church members. There should be a minimum of two church members assigned to each small group and ideally no more than six participants.
This feature of health evangelism is so important that I limit the number of community participants who can attend a program based on the number of small group leaders I have been able to recruit. If I have five small groups lead by 10 church members, I will then limit enrollment for this session to 30-36 community participants.
If there are more people who want to come to your health evangelism program than you can accommodate in the current program, take down their names and numbers. Use these individuals as the nucleus for your next program. Alternatively, you can present the problem to the church to recruit additional church members to lead small groups. Do not enlarge the size of each small group to accommodate all who were interested in attending the program. If a small group gets too large, communication within the group becomes limited and the intimate dynamic is lost.
The purpose of small groups is to create an environment where sharing can occur. The bigger the group, the poorer the group dynamic. You should only allow as many participants to come to your program as you have the personnel available to give them individual attention.
I have been an observer at several large health evangelism programs. These were conducted by skilled communicators who were highly educated health professionals. The speakers were appreciated and were rewarded by appropriate applause. These programs lacked the one-on-one personal attention that could have been provided in small groups. I feel that these large group programs had very limited long-term impact on the lives of those who attended.
The primary interface with the health program participant should be the church member. Church members often have the same weaknesses and struggles as the ones who are coming for help. This is okay. Church members will struggle right along with the participants. Your helpers will frequently have more success than those who have come for help. We tend to shape up when we know that people are watching us.
In asking for volunteers to be small group leaders it is important to keep follow-up activities in mind as well. Church members are needed every day of the program and after the program to conduct follow-up activities. Thorough follow-up will take as much time as conducting the program. Follow-up should continue at quarterly intervals for a whole year.
Small group activities should take from one third to one half of your program time. It is in small groups that specific problems are identified. It is in small groups that victories are shared. It is in small groups that the success of the program is realized.
Small groups should be led by church members. There should be a minimum of two church members assigned to each small group and ideally no more than six participants.
This feature of health evangelism is so important that I limit the number of community participants who can attend a program based on the number of small group leaders I have been able to recruit. If I have five small groups lead by 10 church members, I will then limit enrollment for this session to 30-36 community participants.
If there are more people who want to come to your health evangelism program than you can accommodate in the current program, take down their names and numbers. Use these individuals as the nucleus for your next program. Alternatively, you can present the problem to the church to recruit additional church members to lead small groups. Do not enlarge the size of each small group to accommodate all who were interested in attending the program. If a small group gets too large, communication within the group becomes limited and the intimate dynamic is lost.
The purpose of small groups is to create an environment where sharing can occur. The bigger the group, the poorer the group dynamic. You should only allow as many participants to come to your program as you have the personnel available to give them individual attention.
I have been an observer at several large health evangelism programs. These were conducted by skilled communicators who were highly educated health professionals. The speakers were appreciated and were rewarded by appropriate applause. These programs lacked the one-on-one personal attention that could have been provided in small groups. I feel that these large group programs had very limited long-term impact on the lives of those who attended.
The primary interface with the health program participant should be the church member. Church members often have the same weaknesses and struggles as the ones who are coming for help. This is okay. Church members will struggle right along with the participants. Your helpers will frequently have more success than those who have come for help. We tend to shape up when we know that people are watching us.
In asking for volunteers to be small group leaders it is important to keep follow-up activities in mind as well. Church members are needed every day of the program and after the program to conduct follow-up activities. Thorough follow-up will take as much time as conducting the program. Follow-up should continue at quarterly intervals for a whole year.
Materials
This is a list of the materials and documents you should obtain or develop yourself to be able to conduct a health evangelism program properly. If time is taken to carefully develop materials that are not commercially available, it will greatly simplify conducting future programs. These materials will be useful if you share your health evangelism program to other churches in your area.
1. Director’s Manual.
a. How to organize and conduct a program.
b. Job descriptions
c. Spiritual assignments
2. Helpers Guide
3. Participants Workbook
4. All forms needed to conduct a program
5. Promotion Kit containing all advertising materials
6. Educational handouts
1. Director’s Manual.
a. How to organize and conduct a program.
b. Job descriptions
c. Spiritual assignments
2. Helpers Guide
3. Participants Workbook
4. All forms needed to conduct a program
5. Promotion Kit containing all advertising materials
6. Educational handouts
Director’s Manual
If you are not fortunate enough to get a Director’s Manual with the program you are conducting, it will be useful to make one up as you go along. It should have documentation of everything you do. It should contain samples of all the materials you need to conduct a program.
The Director’s Manual will contain a job description for every activity involved in the program. This will give the program director the overview of how to organize and conduct the program.
The job description for each task should be copied and distributed to the church members who volunteer for each job. With written job descriptions, there will be no confusion about who has which assignment. If the program you are conducting doesn’t have job descriptions, it would be good to compose them during the organizational meetings.
The Director’s Manual will have all the spiritual assignments that are to be made for the helpers during their training. Selections have been suggested above.
The Director’s Manual should contain a copy of the Helper's Guide, Participant's Workbook, data management pieces, educational handouts, multimedia presentations and any other materials that are used in conducting your program.
The Director’s Manual will contain a job description for every activity involved in the program. This will give the program director the overview of how to organize and conduct the program.
The job description for each task should be copied and distributed to the church members who volunteer for each job. With written job descriptions, there will be no confusion about who has which assignment. If the program you are conducting doesn’t have job descriptions, it would be good to compose them during the organizational meetings.
The Director’s Manual will have all the spiritual assignments that are to be made for the helpers during their training. Selections have been suggested above.
The Director’s Manual should contain a copy of the Helper's Guide, Participant's Workbook, data management pieces, educational handouts, multimedia presentations and any other materials that are used in conducting your program.
Helper's Guide
The Helper's Guide is a manual used by the helpers in your program. (I like to call the church members simply “helpers.” Using the term “Coach” implies someone who knows more about the problem than the participants do and who really isn’t in the struggle with them.) The church members who are helpers are obviously mentors, but I do not use the words: counselor, adviser, instructor, partner, guide, or mentor as they imply a position of superiority. It may be true that your helpers are healthier, smarter, and closer to God than many who come for help, but it is never good to have a superiority complex when doing health evangelism.
The Helper's Guide will contain all the materials needed to facilitate small groups. It will include a copy of the Participant’s Workbook. Group leaders will help the participants complete the Workbook assignments.
Include in the Helper's Guide materials on conducting small groups. Include material on being a good listener and how to lead out in small groups. Include tips on how to deal with outspoken group members, and how to draw out discussion from quieter group members.
The Helper's Guide is a place where each group leader can keep personal information about the members of his or her small group. Start with a list of each of the participants. Include their addresses and phone numbers. Encourage helpers and participants to keep in touch with each other frequently throughout the entire program.
Group leaders need to identify the best times to contact participants. Are texts or phone calls preferred? Give each participant your contact information. Indicate the best times for them to text/call you. Participants should be encouraged to initiate contact, but if a group leader doesn’t hear from a participant, it is appropriate to call to see how things are going.
If the relationship between group leaders and participants progresses beyond phone calls, then so much the better. In every group there will be special friendships formed. Sometimes a participant and a group leader will share a common hobby or interest. They will make time to visit with one another and share experiences. They may meet for lunch at a restaurant or at one another’s houses.
The Holy Spirit will help direct in the assignments of participants to the small group in which they will receive the most help. In one 5-Day Plan I conducted, a smoker was linked with church member, George. They had been assigned to each other by the person registering people. As they got to know each other on the first night of the program, they found that they worked in the same building but on different floors.
What a help George was to that smoker who was trying to quit. George and the smoker would eat lunch together. They would walk around the building to get some fresh air. George was called several times a day when the ex-smoker would have a craving for a cigarette. In short order these two became special friends.
God must have arranged for George and this participant to be in the same small group. This was God blessing the program and making it more effective. This pairing was not an accident, coincidence, or random event. It is an example of how God works to make a program effective when it is conducted in a way He can especially bless.
The Helper's Guide will contain all the materials needed to facilitate small groups. It will include a copy of the Participant’s Workbook. Group leaders will help the participants complete the Workbook assignments.
Include in the Helper's Guide materials on conducting small groups. Include material on being a good listener and how to lead out in small groups. Include tips on how to deal with outspoken group members, and how to draw out discussion from quieter group members.
The Helper's Guide is a place where each group leader can keep personal information about the members of his or her small group. Start with a list of each of the participants. Include their addresses and phone numbers. Encourage helpers and participants to keep in touch with each other frequently throughout the entire program.
Group leaders need to identify the best times to contact participants. Are texts or phone calls preferred? Give each participant your contact information. Indicate the best times for them to text/call you. Participants should be encouraged to initiate contact, but if a group leader doesn’t hear from a participant, it is appropriate to call to see how things are going.
If the relationship between group leaders and participants progresses beyond phone calls, then so much the better. In every group there will be special friendships formed. Sometimes a participant and a group leader will share a common hobby or interest. They will make time to visit with one another and share experiences. They may meet for lunch at a restaurant or at one another’s houses.
The Holy Spirit will help direct in the assignments of participants to the small group in which they will receive the most help. In one 5-Day Plan I conducted, a smoker was linked with church member, George. They had been assigned to each other by the person registering people. As they got to know each other on the first night of the program, they found that they worked in the same building but on different floors.
What a help George was to that smoker who was trying to quit. George and the smoker would eat lunch together. They would walk around the building to get some fresh air. George was called several times a day when the ex-smoker would have a craving for a cigarette. In short order these two became special friends.
God must have arranged for George and this participant to be in the same small group. This was God blessing the program and making it more effective. This pairing was not an accident, coincidence, or random event. It is an example of how God works to make a program effective when it is conducted in a way He can especially bless.
Participant's Workbook
The Participant’s Workbook can be just an empty folder with pockets to keep handout materials. If there are going to be a lot of handouts it will be better to provide inexpensive three ring notebooks in which to keep material. Be sure to 3-hole punch your handouts before the program so they will fit into the notebook without additional fuss on the part of the participants.
The handouts that go into the Workbook are distributed at each session of the program. Handouts may include copies of the health lectures, copies of supplemental materials used during the program, the quizzes and exercises that are conducted in small groups. Keep progress records in the workbook as well. Weight loss charts should be kept there for reference in a weight management program.
A fully developed program will have colorful multi-page handouts for each session of the program. These should be purchased in advance or printed, collated, and punched before each program.
The handouts that go into the Workbook are distributed at each session of the program. Handouts may include copies of the health lectures, copies of supplemental materials used during the program, the quizzes and exercises that are conducted in small groups. Keep progress records in the workbook as well. Weight loss charts should be kept there for reference in a weight management program.
A fully developed program will have colorful multi-page handouts for each session of the program. These should be purchased in advance or printed, collated, and punched before each program.
Forms
Forms needed to conduct a program include registration forms, progress cards, and exit questionnaires. A registration form asks for basic demographic data. Obtain contact information which will be helpful for the group leaders to use in contacting participants. Determine health issues that may limit participation in exercise programs. Determine a person’s religious affiliation. Ask about the frequency of private prayer and Bible study.
An exit questionnaire given at the last session will document changes that have occurred in knowledge and practices during the program. Exclude the demographic data collected the first night. Include the same questions you asked the first night regarding health habits, Bible study, prayer, etc. This exit questionnaire should also be used as a follow-up questionnaire to be used at intervals over a year to document continued behavior change or a relapse.
A Progress Card can be used to document a person’s daily adherence to various program elements. The participant should turn in completed Progress Cards from week to week and receive a new blank one at each session. As a supplement to the paper Progress Card, you may have these forms online for persons to fill out at home from day to day.
Additional forms you develop might include name tags for helpers and participants to wear. You might create decorative labels for the Director’s Manual, Workbook, and Helper’s Guide as well. You can make signs with arrows to direct people to their respective small groups. You might have tent shaped signs on each table to identify which small group meets there.
An exit questionnaire given at the last session will document changes that have occurred in knowledge and practices during the program. Exclude the demographic data collected the first night. Include the same questions you asked the first night regarding health habits, Bible study, prayer, etc. This exit questionnaire should also be used as a follow-up questionnaire to be used at intervals over a year to document continued behavior change or a relapse.
A Progress Card can be used to document a person’s daily adherence to various program elements. The participant should turn in completed Progress Cards from week to week and receive a new blank one at each session. As a supplement to the paper Progress Card, you may have these forms online for persons to fill out at home from day to day.
Additional forms you develop might include name tags for helpers and participants to wear. You might create decorative labels for the Director’s Manual, Workbook, and Helper’s Guide as well. You can make signs with arrows to direct people to their respective small groups. You might have tent shaped signs on each table to identify which small group meets there.
Promotion Kit
The Promotion Kit should contain the advertising pieces you developed to promote your program. Keep copies of letters sent to doctor’s offices, articles written for the local papers, advertising you placed in local papers, scripts used on the radio or TV, and form letters you sent to participants who took part in other programs. Copies of posters, banners, brochures, and handouts should be catalogued and kept in the Director’s Manual. This will be helpful when you repeat the program.
Educational Handout Materials
In every program there will be some supplemental materials that come to your attention. These may be duplicated and handed out to participants. These materials may include recipes, copies of articles, or handouts of lecture materials. Copies of these handouts or a record of where they are located online need to be kept.