Key Components of
Physical-e-Fit
Physical-e-Fit Materials
One way your pastor or church leader can support and encourage participation in a new health program, such as Physical-e-Fit, is by including stories or scriptures from your faith tradition about healthy eating, physical activity, and healthy lifestyles in sermons and during Bible Study. Having key church leaders include health messages in announcements, bulletins, programs and newsletters can also help get the message out. Physical-e-Fit used a combination of church bulletins, mediations, and newsletters that were incorporated into worship service or other church events to spread the good news about leading a healthier lifestyle. Copies of the original materials are provided below for you to modify or use as a guide to create new materials.
Church Bulletin Inserts
Church bulletins help to share information in a way that reaches most of the congregation. Including healthy messages in the church bulletin allows members to read during service and take home to reflect on later. If you receive a church bulletin, it’s likely that you will be exposed to the message! The bulletins listed below may be tailored to fit for your church or group. Each bulletin insert will print out with two per page and can be copied and cut to add to your service bulletin.
Move Your Temple Meditations
Making the connection between faith and health is important to a successful faith-based health promotion program. A sermon combining a spiritual and physical health message can be an effective way to motivate members. For example: A pastor could present a sermon on embarking on a “spiritual walk.” This message could then inspire the congregation to participate in a real prayer walk. Below are examples of scriptural references used in Physical-e-Fit, however, you may come up with new ones of your own!
Meditation 1: Spirituality and Health (Corinthians 6)
Meditation 2: Caring for Mind & Body (Romans 12)
Meditation 3: Walking Meditation (Ezekiel 36:27)
Meditation 4: Spirit of Change (I Samuel 10:6)
Meditation 5: Maintain the Spirit-filled Life (Galatians 5:16-18)
Newsletters
In the Physical-e-Fit program, we sent quarterly newsletters to participating churches and members. These newsletters were a way to share health information as well as information about how the program was going. Newsletters are a great way to share information about a program. You might consider using these newsletters as a guide for a program in your church. For example, you could highlight members who have had successes, you could advertise a walking contest and announce winning teams, and you could share important information about physical activity with your congregation.
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: January 2005 (pdf)
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: October 2004 (pdf)
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: July 2004 (pdf)
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: April 2004 (pdf)
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: January 2004 (pdf)
Physical-e-Fit newsletter: October 2003 (pdf)