Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls

Why a health initiative?

When we commit to caring for ourselves, we can then fully commit to our purpose and mission. We can commit to God’s command to make disciples in the world and stand ready to serve others. Healthy women can produce healthy families, churches, and communities, and can develop healthy, more just, and more holistic societies.

What is it all about?

We are committed by our purpose statement to promoting healing and wholeness in our church, society, and world. Making a real difference in the total health of women begins at the “heart” of the matter: being physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy and balanced women.

The current realities

According to the American Heart Association (and its division, the American Stroke Association) heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of women in America. So many women are directly affected by heart disease and stroke, and indirectly by the high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, upper respiratory illnesses, and restricted quality of life related to them.

Women also face many barriers to being in control of our own health care of serving as healthy role models to the girls and families we are raising. Our vision is to support women and together address some of the harsh realities women face, particularly around heart disease and stroke.

Our plan

We are committed to raising up healthy women and girls by:

  •     Educating women to care for themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
  •     Sharing knowledge and experience in order to prevent women and girls from continuing today’s health risks tomorrow.
  •     Advocating for more research, particularly to hasten the elimination of heart disease and stroke in our lifetime.

To carry out that plan, we pledge the following:

  •     As physically healthy women, we will make healthy choices for our bodies.
  •     As spiritually healthy women, we will engage in Bible study, spiritual renewal, and holistic healing.
  •     As emotionally healthy women, we will engage in and seek healthy and meaningful activities and relationships to better support one another.

What’s next?

It is imperative that every woman sees herself in this bold effort and understands how her well-being benefits the faith community. A community of women created in the image of God, putting our energy into reducing or eradicating heart disease and stroke as the numbers one and three killers of women in America, will make a tremendous difference in the lives of millions of women.