God began to reveal God's will for my life to promote health with a simple three-word prophecy to, "Keep on Running". It was through and while running that God revealed the importance for me to strive to remain fit and healthy and to encourage others of the importance to do the same.

It did not take long for the reality of the difficulty of the task to become clear. Encouraging and making changes to improved health, even for Christians is a daunting task. The ills of a society that is and has been for generations geared toward causing sickness, especially for people of color, are hard to counteract. Poor health and illness is big business.

Even with this realization, I hold on to the words of Jesus in Matthew 16: 18, "And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". I believe in the power of the church and the power of the pastors placed in those churches. If pastors can be encouraged, the pews can be encouraged. My Doctor of Ministry project allowed six local pastors to take time out of their busy schedules, a day and a half, to focus on their own individual health. They were accessed in areas to include physical, nutritional, emotional and spiritual health. They received individual recommendations of steps to take to improve their health in order be even more effective in their churches and communities. As pastors catch on to the need for intentional care of their health, they will share with others who will also become intentional of encouraging care for themselves, their families, friends, and communities. God will be glorified in the midst of it all!