Introduction

"The true physician (health worker) Is an educator. He recognizes his responsibility, not only to the sick who are under his direct care, but also to the community In which he lives. He stands as a guardian of both physical and moral health It is his endeavor not only to teach right methods for the treatment of the sick, but to encourage right habits of living, and to spread a knowledge of right principles." The Ministryof Healing, p. 125.

Of the hundreds of gifted Adventist young people entering health professional training institutions each year, very few have opportunity to study at Church-operated schools. me vast majority study at their local state schools or in other secular institutions. On the whole, they receive good professional training but little or no Adventist orientation or instruction on the Christian perspective to health care.

In their intensive study programs, hundreds of young people become discouraged and lose their way spiritually. Many others feel neglected. Most love their Church and would be happy to receive training and engage in health evangelism and local medical missionary work if they were shown how. However, there are few role models of health evangelists, and there is even the commonly expressed feeling by many church administrators that the health professionals who work for government or secular institutions are somehow abandoning the Church. The fact is, the Church can never afford to employ more than a small fraction of the current approximately 50,000 or more Adventist national health workers.

Two personal experiences, or case studies, might serve to illustrate the problem we have observed over the past several years.

1. In an East African country, several of us enjoyed a Sabbath lunch together talking about the work of God in that area. Two of the group were national physicians who worked for the Government, two were expatriate physicians, and one a Union departmental director. The Union man told of the great need for health literature to be prepared or translated into the national language. The two national physicians expressed their frustration in feeling they were totally ignored by the Church; that it appeared to have no need for their services as lay medical missionaries. It was a rather simple matter to help team the Union officer and the well-qualified national physicians on a project to prepare health literature for that country. But why did it take so long for the Church to recognize and use these lay workers?

2. One hot, sultry afternoon in this same African country, a young national physician entered Bill's office in the Ministry of Health to express his desire to work for the Adventist Church. He was the son of an Adventist pastor, but all his education beyond elementary school had been in government schools. When accepted into medical school, he felt very much alone, and he knew of no assistance he could call upon. He had no role models to follow, and so chose to conform to the schedule which required attendance at classes on Sabbath. A brief conversation with him convinced Bill he was sincere, but it was also evident he had little knowledge of church policy or employment practices, and almost no knowledge of a distinctive Adventist health message. He was an eager student, however, and after a few hours in our home, and after reading some Spirit of Prophecy health classics we shared with him, the Holy Spirit worked on his heart and he became a consecrated medical missionary. This young man is now serving the Church in a position of considerable responsibility in one of the Unions of Africa.

It seems to many of us that it is high time something special was prepared for wonderful young people like this who are currently in training, or who have recently graduated. The AIMS Health Evangelism Study Guide is one effort to meet this need. It contains both a historic, philosophic, and theological background for Adventist health care workers, and also practical guides on how to do medical missionary work and health evangelism

We encourage Adventist medical mission opinion leaders to organize regional study sites and discussion leaders for them. The discussion leaders will need training and a general support system will have to be developed. AIMS would be happy to help plan training and would encourage you to contact us regarding this, if you would like help. Once the discussion leaders are trained, an on-going program of local study and discussion groups is envisioned. This would require support from the local church in supervision and the provision of subsidized Study Guides. It would also include the alignment of health professionals with minister teams for health evangelism.

While the primary focus of the Study Guide is for those in developing countries where resources are the least, it is expected it can be useful to all health professionals to stimulate their thinking on how they can best witness for their Creator and Redeemer in these last days of earth's history. We are convinced that the health message and program of the Adventist Church has an important part both in preparing people for the coming of the Lord, and in giving the last witness to the world of God's great love and goodness.

Welcome to the ministry of Health Evangelism, and may God richly bless as you study and put into practice some of the concepts here presented!

Bill and Yvonne Dysinger February, 1991