THE death toll in the Haiti quake could top 100,000 Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has said

TOKYO (Reuters) - A 102-year-old Japanese man from a village near the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has committed suicide, with his family saying that the prospect of evacuation may have been the cause, Jiji news agency reported on Thursday.Jiji reported that the man, confirmed dead on Tuesday, was the oldest resident of Iitate village, which is located about 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Daiichi plant and is included in an expanded evacuation zone announced on Monday.

Soup for Japan: ADRA at work after the tsunamiAdventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) volunteers unload a mobile kitchen in Tokyo last week. The organization provided meals to displaced persons at an area evacuation center. The church's humanitarian arm is among organizations aiding those most affected by country's March 11 earthquake. [photo courtesy ADRA International

Division-wide baptism event culminates small-group ministry in Inter-America, 'Pentecost and More' initiative marks five years! 30 Mar 2011, Maracaibo, Zulia, VenezuelaLibna Stevens/IAD/ANN

"We are rejoicing that God continues to lead men and women to the foot of the cross, that the gospel is being preached and those who accept the gospel are being engrafted into the body of Jesus Christ," said Balvin Braham, event organizer and ministerial associate director for the church Inter-America.

Balvin said more than 15,300 baptisms took place in 16 of the 21 church regions in the territory during the live program. Final figures are still pending.

Obed Ortiz, personal ministries director for the church's Inter-Oceanic Mexico region, offers a baptismal prayer during Inter-America's Pentecost and More satellite event held at the Palacio de Eventos in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on March 19. [photo: Libna Stevens]

More than 15,000 baptisms took place throughout Inter-America during the live Pentecost and More event held March 19. Above, in west Venezuela, some of the 1,200 baptisms during the event. [photo: Aniceto Cueto]

HAROLD CAMPING, 89, THE CALIFORNIA EVANGELICAL BROADCASTER WHO PREDICTS THAT JUDGMENT DAY WILL COME ON MAY21, 2011.

On the eve Of fOrever

It is God’s intention that every church be a center of a Health Outreach Program.

I. Guiding Principles

Biblical

✎While Jesus was on earth, He ministered to all aspect of human life including the physical part.

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, . . . . teaching . . . preaching, and . . . . healing . . .” Matt. 4:23

Christ’s Center of MinistryHealing - represented His ministry to the physical needs.

Teaching - represented His ministry to the human’s mind.

Preaching - represented His ministry to the spiritual needs.

II. Every Church a Training School

“Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught. . . how best to help the poor and care for the sick, how to work for the unconverted. There should be schools of health, cooking schools, and classes in various lines of Christian help work.” MH 149

“In every place where there is church and church school, instruction should be given in regard to the preparation of simple health foods for the use of those who wish to live in accordance with the principle of health reform.” CDF 470

III. Effective elements in health evangelism:

A. It should be church-based

Rationale:

1. Ideal for group meeting

2. Low cost

3. Community comes to church

4. Health is less threatening

5. It will boost church reputation

6. Church members identify it as their program

Effective elements...

B. There should be church members involvement

Rationale:

1. Church members has their unique ability to offer love, sympathy and support

2. Church can provide meaningful interaction with the participants.

Effective elements...

C. There should be spiritual component in it.

Rationale:

Participants should be introduced to God as the agent of behavior change.

Example:

God helps smokers quit smoking

God helps obese people lose weight

God helps people cope with stress

Discomfort

Inability

Cooperation with God

Thankful to God

Victory

Once a person experienced deliverance from a certain problem and convinced that through Christ he was able to find relief eventually will ask concerning about the belief of the SDA church.

Effective elements...

Type:

1. It may be another health program that answers for the felt needs of target population.

2. It may be health evangelistic meeting or Bible studies.

3. It may be church activities that a person concerned may be invited to participate.

4. Others

Effective elements...

D. Follow-up of Church-based health program

Effective elements...

E. Evaluation

This may be measured by the following:

1. Total attendance

2. Percentage of lifestyle changes in the participants

3. Increased of knowledge of healthful living

4. By the use of questionnaire

5. Personal visit to the participant’s home

Effective elements...

F. Scientifically sound

All elements of health evangelism are ineffective if the programs are not scientifically sound.

Baptism: Event or Process

Becoming a Christian is not an event but a process!

We put forth much emphasis on baptism and tend to ignore the process.

Health evangelism lead people through the process toward baptism

Friendship Evangelism

Health evangelism program, rightly conducted, will lead to baptisms and will elevate the reputation of a church in the community

How People Joined a church

• Friend 79%• Pastor 6%• Sabbath School 5%• Program 3%• Special need 2%• Visitation 1%• Crusade 1%

NAD survey

What encourages an individual to become acquainted of your church is an interest in something you do in your church.

The more Health Evangelism activities you conduct in your church on regular basis, the more interest the community will have in your church.

Health evangelism should be designed to create a mutual relation between church members and the community.

The strongest influence in a person’s joining your church is the presence of friends in the congregation. Soul-saving friendship occurs in small groups that meet each session of the program.

Suggested Programs

The following suggested programs may meet those needs.

Do it often, do it well, do it regularly!

1. Nutrition and Cooking Classes

Description:• Healthy nutrition is

promoted worldwide especially vegetarian.

• Seventh-day Adventist as the proponent of vegetarianism can take advantage on this and conduct nutrition and cooking classes.

2. Smoking Cessation Programs

Description:• Thousands of smokers desire to stop

smoking but they don’t know how.• Breathe-Free smoking cessation

program is the answer to this need.

3. Regeneration: Christ-Centered Support Group Ministry

Description: • Regeneration is a program designed to help

chemical and non-chemical dependents overcome the problem.

• A Christ-Centered support group, regeneration provides support to struggling addicted person.

• A ministry that meets weekly to seek Christ’s healing power.

4. Family Health Tract Ministry

Description:• A program designed for the

next door neighbor• It has 8 health lessons intended

to establish relationship.• A weekly visit to neighbor can create interest for

a lesson study

5. Fitness Program

Description:• Exercise is the best

predictors of health and longevity.

• It lowers many health problems• Introducing Charobix, SSD New

Exercise program

6. Healthy Lifestyle Program

Description:• Healthy Lifestyle is the

buzz word everywhere• A program focus on Healthy lifestyle

living targeted to various groups of people using simple Newstart/Celebrations model or with computerized program.

7. Health Van Ministry

Description:• As the program implies,

it needs vehicle• If van is own by church it must

portray it’s mission. “Adventist Community Health Services”

• Manned with health professionals to offer health screening such as: BP, BS, BC, etc.

• It goes around the City/Town, Big malls, Plaza, to do free health screenings.

8. Healthy Kids Ministry

Description:• Kids are avenues to parents’ hearts.• Various possible programs the church

is capable of doing.• Conduct regular BSS program

with health components• Regular outreach to have

healthy kids checkup.

Put Life into Your Church!

Christ Method Alone:

Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior Mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them ‘Follow Me” MH 143

Christ Method Alone

He Mingled with men Contact

He desired their good. ConcernHe showed His sympathy CompassionHe ministered to their needs CommitmentHe won their confidence. ConfidenceHe bade them ‘Follow Me” Conversion

Functional Truths

• Truth must be shared as functional truths, as relevant to people’s needs, interests, expectation, and concerns.

• Paul speaks of:“Communicating truth in Love” Eph 4:15“ The Gospel by word and by deed” Rom. 15:14

Functional Truths

EG White Puts it:

“The greatest argument for Christianity is a loving and

lovable Christian”

Effective mission and rapid churchgrowth revolve around this concept.

“We are not to wait for souls to come to us; we must seek them where they are… There are multitudes who will never be reached by the gospel unless it is carried to them”

COL 229