c. 2004 Religion News Service

HOMEWOOD, Ala. _ When people visit Dawson Memorial Baptist Church here, they often go to run, lift weights and work out their bodies, as well as their worship and prayer lives.

They also come to find out if they have cancer, diabetes or high blood pressure.

Dawson Baptist has placed an emphasis on health issues, with a gleaming recreation center and programs devoted not just to fitness, but to the overall medical health of the congregation.

Just as Jesus healed people as part of his teaching ministry, so churches should strive to heal and keep healthy as well, said Debbie Moss, a registered nurse who serves as minister of health and wellness on the Dawson staff.

“It’s an incredible ministry that models the life of Christ,” Moss said. With a spate of health screenings every Wednesday and Sunday, along with frequent workshops on health and fitness and a nurse on staff who can run a blood test in her office, Dawson Baptist is part of an increasing trend toward churches taking on the role of a thriving health clinic and fitness center.

Not every church can do it on the same scale.

“A lot of the churches don’t have that kind of budget,” said Debbie Duke, a registered nurse who serves as congregational health program coordinator for Baptist Health System and also is the parish nurse and health ministry team leader for ClearBranch United Methodist Church in Argo, Ala.

But every church can take steps to care for the overall spiritual and physical health of the congregation, Duke said.

“Instead of churches of having a one-time or twice-a-year health fair, we are working toward having a health team that addresses health needs all year long,” Duke said.

Duke, as the health ministry leader at ClearBranch, helps coordinate blood pressure screenings twice a month, an educational bulletin board, guest chaplains, a grief recovery support group, a cancer support group, a diabetes support group, blood drives twice a year, weight-loss programs and flu shots.

The trend harkens back to the early days of the church, before modern medicine, when people brought their sick to see a priest for healing, Duke said.

“In the beginning, the church ministered holistically _ body, mind and spirit,” Duke said.

Samford University offers a preparatory program for parish nurses. Nearly 300 registered nurses have gone through additional training at Samford to be certified since 2000, Duke said.

A church needn’t have any members who are doctors or nurses, she said. A health team can arrange for guest speakers or health-care volunteers to visit, or a cancer survivor could lead a support group, for example, she said.

At Dawson Baptist, the church’s “Healthy Lifestyle” program signed up 120 people this year to go through health screenings. Physiologists, nurses, dietitians and personal trainers offered plans for cardiological workouts at the gym and at home, along with healthy diets tailored to individual health.

Screenings have caught some early cases of skin and prostate cancer, Moss said. One man who signed up for the program did the beginning exercise of a 12-minute walk at the Family Recreation Center and experienced chest pains. He was referred to a doctor and soon underwent heart bypass surgery.

Many people have health conditions that could be helped if detected, Moss said. Others just want to get or stay in shape.

The Rev. Neal Schooley, associate pastor for pastoral care at Dawson Baptist, said he’s among those who have been helped. “My blood pressure had been creeping up,” he said. “They’re the ones who detected that.”

He’s been taking medication for it, thanks to the church’s thorough approach to well-being.

“It has brought health issues to the front,” Schooley said.

DEA/PH END GARRISON