Survey: Churches Investing Heavily in Health Care Ministries

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, February 19, 2008

At a time when the American public is largely concerned about health care, a majority of U.S. churches are ministering to their communities by providing health services and education, a new groundbreaking study showed.

About 70 percent of churches across the country provide direct health services and 65 percent provide educational health programs, according to the Congregational Health Survey. Only 6.4 percent of U.S. congregations reported they offer no programs of any kind in health care ministries.

The survey was conducted by the National Council of Churches (NCC) USA in 2006-2007 with responses from 6,037 congregations – representing 2.5 million members. Results are reported in NCC's 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches which released last week.

"In recent years the NCC and its member churches have shared with the American public a growing concern for the issues of the cost and equity of access to quality health care for all Americans," according to the report.

"Within the national dialogue, which has increasingly addressed concerns about the American health care system, various observers have suggested an expanded role for the 'faith-based' sector in meeting the health care needs of our society," the report stated.

Congregations that responded to the survey each have an average of 13.07 health-related activities and most of the churches open health care ministries – compassionate care activities related to health needs conducted as a part of a church's overall mission – to members and non-members alike. Also, 57 percent of responding congregations host health events such as blood donor drives or health fairs and 51 percent offer direct financial support to individuals who need help paying their medical bills.

The results are released at a time when evangelicals are ranking health care as a higher priority than ever before. A January Beliefnet poll found that 78 percent of evangelicals or born-again Christians say improving access to health care is the "most" or "very" important.

"It is not surprising to find that churches see health care as a part of their faith mission and mandate," says the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, supervisor of the Congregational Health Ministry Survey and editor of the NCC Yearbook. "The results of this survey confirm a higher energy for health care than we might have thought, however, and show that effective health care ministries are being developed by congregations of all sizes to meet the urgent needs of their communities."

Congregations with higher average attendance and suburban and urban downtown congregations provided more direct service programs compared to smaller and rural churches.

The survey was conducted in an attempt to understand more fully the nature of congregational involvement in the provision of health education and services. Survey results have led the NCC to conclude that local faith-based organizations "can and do play an important role within the complex picture of health care in America."