The Faith-Based Settings Sector is designed to include diverse religious organizations, including religious congregations or houses of worship, organized religious denominations, faith-based social service agencies, and faith-based charities.
The Sector Leads include Rev. Eric Williams from the Clergy Response Network, and Carole Bowe Thompson from the Health Equity Institute at UMKC.
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KCPA Plan Strategies and Tactics for Faith-Based Settings
The inclusive mission of faith-based settings, combined with their broad reach across diverse communities, makes religious congregations well-positioned to play an important role in improving rates of physical activity.
Like worksites and schools, faith-based organizations have unique social systems, physical environments, communications, policies and practices, and health-related goals that make them conducive to promoting physical activity.
Strategy 14
Faith-based organizations should identify effective uses of their health ministries to promote physical activity.
Tactics
Identify the individuals and groups who will lead implementation of physical activity promotion strategies in faith-based settings.
Establish, if necessary, health ministries that are consistent with the faith community’s religious beliefs to promote physical activity among the faith community.
Create an environment supportive of physical activity by delivering proven and well-established (evidence-based and best practice) physical activity messaging and programs that are consistent with the faith community’s religious beliefs.
Strategy 15
Faith-based organizations should establish cross-sector partnerships to promote and deliver physical activity programs consistent with and tailored for diverse groups of constituents aligning with their values, beliefs, and practices.
Tactics
Foster relationships between collaborators to engage in equitable and trustworthy partnerships.
Collaborate with local healthcare delivery systems, academic institutions (e.g., undergraduate and graduate kinesiology programs, public health) and other local faith-based organizations to develop and implement inclusive physical activity programs and to provide technical assistance and expertise when requested.
Support planning and implementation of physical activity programs that use existing infrastructures, such as ministerial organizations and interfaith coalitions.
Strategy 16
Faith-based organizations should create long-term plans that include promoting physical activity programs for their congregation and residents in communities they serve.
Tactics
Train and prepare clergy and ministry leaders to see the value of and advocate for physical activity planning in their faith-based organizations and in communities they serve.
Communicate with clergy and ministry leaders regarding the importance of incorporating physical activity into existing programs.
Support existing health ministries and meeting groups already present in faith-based organizations, such as youth, women’s, and men’s groups who seek to promote and incorporate physical activity.
Strategy 17
Faith-based organizations should identify and/or develop marketing materials to better understand the importance of physical activity that are tailored to the congregants and communities they serve.
Tactics
Develop materials that link physical activity programs to other activities, such as prayer and study groups.
Encourage clergy leaders, including existing cross-faith organizations and committees, to incorporate religiously and culturally tailored physical activity messages in their communications.
Support the development of messages from all religions and denominations that demonstrate how scripture, religious doctrine, and practices can support and encourage engagement in physical activity and other positive health behaviors.
Strategy 18
Physical activity and public health organizations should develop and maintain an electronic resource of proven and well established (evidence-based and best practice) physical activity programs for faith-based organizations to access for reference and implementation.
Tactics
Identify proven and well-established (evidence-based and best practice) physical activity resources in collaboration with faith-based leaders and lay community members for faith-based organizations to access electronically.
Promote the electronic resource to existing faith-based organizations through social media, email lists, and other outlets.
Support faith-based organizations to implement physical activity programs at multiple levels, including individual, family, faith-based organization, and community.