The general mission study theme for 2001 is Global Health and Christian Responsibility. It is a topic that calls us, as church members, to look at our own well-being and self-care and at the health needs of people around the world. What assistance is needed to enable all to have the "abundant life" that Jesus promises in John 10:10? What is our role, as God's servants, in restoring others to health and wholeness?

• Impediments to Health
• Christian Responsibility

Health is much more than the absence of disease. It depends on more than access to medical care when illness is present. Rather, health is what results when we embrace the guidelines for abundant living found in the Bible, being careful of what we ingest, how we behave, and how we treat our environment.

Impediments to Health

There is a clear connection between poverty and health. Generally, those with fewer financial resources lack the funds to pay for a nutritious diet, immunizations, and a doctor's care when they are ill. Children who do not go to bed hungry may be malnourished if they lack a balanced, nutritious diet.

Cover of a youth resource available for this mission study.

Visit NWO Links & Resources for ordering information.

There is also a corollary between wealth and poor health. People who can afford to buy any food they desire may choose foods that are nutritionally poor, consume foods high in sugar or fat, or overindulge in alcohol, or take illegal drugs. Their very affluence affords them a variety of ways in which to damage their health.

Other impediments to health are in the environment. Sickness and disease may result from the pollution of air and waterways or the destruction of forests. Floods and other natural disasters may cause water pollution, resulting in epidemics of malaria or cholera. Disasters may also uproot and dislocate subsistence farm families, preventing them from growing their own food.

War is a destroyer of health as well as life. Not only does it bring death or injury to the combatants, it creates refugees who are often forced to live in crowded camps where food is limited and sanitation is poor. Even after a war ends, both combatants and civilians continue to suffer from physical and mental trauma, and farmers cultivating their fields may be killed or mutilated by buried landmines.

Cover of a children's resource available for this mission study.

Visit NWO Links & Resources for ordering information.

Christian Responsibility

Through such biblical stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37), Jesus admonishes us to care for all our neighbors, even those who despise and shun us. Church members can make global health a mission priority by:

• working toward universal ACCESS to health care, while ensuring that everyone learns about nutrition and preventive care;
• undertaking ADVOCACY for sound environmental practices, nonviolent conflict resolution, antipoverty initiatives, and other life-enhancing reforms;
• actively providing CARE, as by assembling and sending Medicine Boxes or participating in work teams of health-care volunteers.

Global Health mission-study resources have been prepared for all age levels. For example, comic books, a website, and a CD-Rom enable children and youth to survey global-health issues across the United States and around the world. You can join the journey by offering the study in your local church. Encourage independent study at home by monitoring health reports on the news. Include "did you know" items and "tips" related to health in your Sunday bulletins. Participate in national and community campaigns to reduce environmental pollution. Fill a Medicine Box. Join a team of health-care volunteers. Work to increase access to medical care in your community. And covenant to care for your own health through exercise, proper nutrition, and prayerful living.