-START WALKING TEAMS
AT YOUR CHURCH-
Evangelistic is proof that more gets accomplished on a team. Get your congregation moving with a walking club!
Evangelistic Church of Deliverence Weldon, NC
Halifax County
Houses of worship are ideal places to start walking teams – people regularly attend, and the locations are usually safe, well-known spaces. In Weldon, Evangelistic Church of Deliverance started their own walking teams through their Wellness Ministry. The Wellness Ministry hosts healthy living programs, including healthy food at church gatherings, a small community garden, a health fair, and more.
Their walking team approach is a program that any church can adopt. Individuals can join the Wellness ministry members who serve as team leaders as they walk. They use set courses around the Town of Weldon including trails at River Falls Park, Roanoke River Canal, Halifax Community College, and their own parking lot.
They have also built programming around walking, including “walking” to another city. Each year, the church attends its annual Deliverance Fellowship in another city around the country. In preparation for their trip, the Wellness Ministry will “walk” to that city. The Wellness Ministry finds out the distance (in miles) to the fellowship city and then, as a group, they try to walk that many miles before the trip. Each member logs their miles walked each week, and the group adds all their miles together. They’ve walked from Weldon to Cary, NC and even from Weldon to Augusta, GA, and Philadelphia, PA!
Walking is a low-impact exercise that all ages and abilities can take on. Not only is it a gentle way to get exercise, but it’ll give your congregation a chance to build community and commune with one another. Evangelistic is proof that more gets accomplished on a team. Get your congregation moving with walking teams!
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The Walking Team at Evangelistic is a perfect example of a simple active living program to adapt for your own church. You don’t need a wellness committee to start one; a group of individuals who want to meet and walk once a week is all it takes to start your own team. (Be sure participants check with their doctor before getting started.) Look up what’s near your church to see where you can walk. If you have cemeteries, parks or trails nearby, take advantage of these open spaces. If you don’t have a greenway or sidewalks near your church, consider meeting at a shopping mall or movie theater to walk around. Walking around a large public space like a shopping mall is a great alternative to walking through neighborhoods or around a track.
Even walking around your church or parking lot with a small group of people is enough. Once your walking team or club is established, consider adding programming to it to keep people coming and encourage new members to join. You can incorporate guided meditation walks, prayer walks, or story walks into your club as you continue to grow.
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People dancing.
People in parking lot buying produce
Group of people sitting in circle talking/listening.