Be a Fan

for Your Church’s Health!

FAN Enrollment is Open

The FAN Online Training is now being offered by Health Ministries Association (HMA). Please email Ms. Denise Viker, RN, BSN from HMA (FAN4HMA@gmail.com) to learn more about taking part in the FAN Online Training. Each person from your church who wishes to take part in the training will be asked to complete an enrollment form. You will receive additional information about how to access the FAN Online Training at that time.

Download a FAN flyer to share with your church leaders and members by clicking the button below.

Flyer

Do you want to learn more about FAN? Click to watch an informational video that describes the FAN Program and the FAN Online Training.

Informational Video

HMA Contact Information

 FAN4HMA@gmail.com

Health Ministries Association (HMA) is Now Offering the FAN Online Training!

*Online training for the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) Program, developed at the University of South Carolina, is now available to churches nationally through Health Ministries Association (HMA).

HMA encourages, supports and empowers leaders in the integration of faith and health in their local communities. Its membership is made up of health ministers, faith community nurses, clergy, and others who coordinate health ministries in diverse faith communities. Click here to learn more about HMA.

Why FAN?

Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) was developed with and for churches to prevent and address the most common health conditions impacting congregations and communities, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and obesity. The program focuses on physical activity and healthy eating because these two behaviors are consistently shown in research to prevent and treat these health conditions. Churches can benefit from FAN by having healthier members. Healthy members can more fully participate in church life and carry out the work of God.

God gave us our body and wants us to care for it. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reads, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (NKJV).

What is FAN?

FAN is a Christian-based program that helps to create a healthy church environment. The program has helped over 400 churches increase physical activity and healthy eating in members. FAN is flexible – your church can choose the activities you wish to put in place so that the program works in your church.

FAN is effective – it is included in the National Cancer Institute’s Evidence-Based Cancer Control Programs and the Rural Health Information Hub.

The FAN Online Training includes 8 self-paced, interactive weekly lessons. Each lesson can be completed within an hour. The program also includes 12 months of materials and resources to help your church launch FAN and sustain it over the first year.

What Does the FAN Online Training Cover?

The FAN Online Training will support your church to:

increase opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating (e.g., substitute tasty, healthy meals & snacks for church events; add movement breaks into church events),
create church guidelines (policies) for physical activity and healthy eating,
engage church leaders in FAN goals and support church leaders’ health, and
share health messages with members through familiar church channels (e.g., bulletin inserts, handouts, social media, messages for worship service).

The training is designed for a committee of 2-5 people from your church. Your church committee will learn about national recommendations for healthy eating and physical activity and will spend time in guided brainstorming to plan how to put the FAN program into place. The online training can be completed individually or in small group settings (e.g., small group Bible study format), depending on the needs and interests of your church committee. You will begin a FAN Program Plan during the trainings that will guide your church’s activities over the next year.

Our hope is that FAN changes the culture of your church to make lasting health changes in the lives of members. Churches have also used FAN strategies and materials to improve the health of the communities they serve.

What Will My Church Be Asked to Do?

If your church chooses to take part in the FAN Online Training, we will ask you to:

select a person from your church to coordinate the program (i.e., FAN Coordinator),
form a committee of 2-5 people from your church who will complete the online training and put the program into place (e.g., church leaders, members, health champions, Sunday school teachers, cooks / hospitality staff), and
provide feedback about each of the lessons by answering short online surveys.

If you are interested in the FAN Online Training, please contact Ms. Denise Viker at Health Ministries Association (FAN4HMA@gmail.com).

Hear from a FANtastic Pastor

“FAN is a complete package. Nothing was lacking or missing. It is exactly what churches need to get a health ministry started in their church. The resources were phenomenal. So well thought out. The training has all of the videos and resources and documents that you need.”

–FAN Coordinator