Health Ministry Partners with Churches to Help Christians Get Fit: 'The Bible Is Not Oblivious'

The Bible says our bodies are the temple of The Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, far too many Christians struggle with poor health choices that harm the body. Health and fitness expert Matthew Gay understands the temptations many people face when trying to eat right and exercise. That's why he created Fit Church United, which strives to help people grow closer to Jesus while improving their health. 

The goal is to make a healthy lifestyle a standard element of Christian culture by planting fitness ministries in churches across the U.S. 

"We're talking about Biblical nutrition, and meaningful movement, and lifestyle change, and goal setting, and how you can do these things under the umbrella of Christ and his word," Gay told CBN News.

Partnering with Churches

Gay partners with churches to help congregations teach their people about the biblical basis for developing a healthy lifestyle. He believes too often the topics of health and fitness are overlooked at many churches when a lot of folks sitting in the pews are really struggling with these issues. As a result, people tend to go outside the Christian community for help, which can be problematic.

Dr. Steven Roby, Lead Pastor at Water's Edge Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, told CBN News he feels it's important to offer health guidance from a Christian perspective rather than a secular one. 

"When someone goes to a secular trainer, or they're looking at some fitness magazine, or on Instagram, a lot of times those motivations can be completely vain," he said. "It's wrapped up in how you look, or maintaining some sort of body image, and a lot of people's identities can get wrapped up in that."

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That's why Roby offers his congregation Gay's Christ-centered health workshops and fitness classes. He believes far too many Christians have inadvertently adopted a number of unhealthy habits like the world around them. 

"They reflect America," he said. "Six out of ten people in America have chronic health issues as they age, and a lot of that's self-inflicted – the diet, the processed food that we eat, the lack of movement with sedentary lifestyles that we live."

To make matters worse, in some cases, traditional Christian culture can unintentionally make it very difficult to people struggling with their weight to resist temptation.

"Because of all the food that we bring to our potluck gatherings, to our small group gatherings," he said, "where everybody's making their best desserts, they're making all of the special dishes, which usually are really high-calorie foods."

The Christian Motivation

Pastor Roby believes an important facet to Matt's health ministry is the way he motivates people by reminding them that God needs servants who can effectively use their bodies to carry out His work. Some examples include building homes for the poor, digging wells on mission trips, and working at a shelter. 

"We want to help people be strong," he said, "not for any vain reasons, but so they can serve the Lord with all their strength."

While Roby recognizes it's difficult for many people to break unhealthy patterns such as sugar addiction, he feels it's important to remind Christians that certain harmful habits are outside the will of God.

"Even though gluttony is a lack of self-control, sinful, Proverbs 23 tells us, 'Not to be among the drunkards and the gluttons,'  it's kind of one of those acceptable sins in the church," he said. "And I think that's a shame." 

Personal Training

In addition to Gay's work with churches, he also offers individual health and fitness training, in person and online. He says when people struggle with weight issues, he often starts by helping them discover the reason they overeat.

"We're going to place Christ at the center of this, and we're going to look to Him for the help that we need in overcoming some of the deep-rooted issues that you're facing that are causing you to live in an unhealthy manner," he said. "We're going to take that to Him."

Gay says God can help us deal with our negative emotions much better than any unhealthy substance or activity.

"The Bible is not oblivious to the emotions that we feel," he said. "God gives us instruction for how to navigate our emotions in a Godly way." 

Although it's often difficult to adopt a healthier lifestyle, some Christians say with God it's not only possible, but necessary. 

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