Alyssa Bahnmiller – Fort Lupton, Colorado … A healthy cooking class was held January 8 as a joint outreach effort between the Fort Lupton and Carbon Valley Seventh-day Adventist Churches in north-central Colorado.

As plans for growth at the Fort Lupton and Carbon Valley Churches continue to take shape, a needs survey had been distributed in the community. The results have been used by the church’s Bible Worker, Eric Bahnmiller, to facilitate outreach. One of the most popular selections of interest was health and wellness.

Many in those communities seem to have a keen interest in their physical health. Along with the desire for healthy cooking classes, there is also a lot of interest in exercise programs, physical fitness support groups, hiking, biking, and more. Both churches teamed up to support and join in these initiatives, inviting people from both communities to participate at the Fort Lupton Church fellowship hall.

After much prayer, it was decided that the best place to begin meeting the health needs of the people would be through monthly cooking classes. The classes are organized and taught by Alyssa Bahnmiller, a registered nurse and health and wellness coach, who is a member of the Fort Lupton Church. The first class presented introductory information on health and wellness through nutrition.

Attendees learned how good nutrition can be a means of preventing and reversing many common chronic illnesses. The health education session was followed by a cooking demonstration filled with information about the health benefits of the foods being used. The menu was a plant-based linguini alfredo with the optional toppings of pan-seared cherry tomatoes or grilled mushrooms and with side options of simple steamed broccoli and a green salad with chopped roasted almonds and a made-from-scratch Italian dressing.

Although the weather for that day was adverse, and several people contacted the instructor because of illness, seven community members braved the cold to attend along with 11 church members. Three of the attendees were community contacts that Eric has already been working with through Bible study and personal ministry. One attendee saw the flier that was placed at a local grocery store, and the others were guests brought by Eric’s contacts.

After the cooking demonstration and health education was completed, dinner was served to the attendees so they could experience how good the food tasted. This was a time of fellowship and friendship building between church members and the community guests.

One excited community member commented about the cooking demonstration: “when [Alyssa] was putting those ingredients in the blender [for the plant-based alfredo sauce] I thought, ‘this is going to be so gross.’ But when I tasted it, I couldn’t believe how delicious it was!”

She and her sister were both living with type II diabetes and desired to reverse their disease through healthier living. They requested to take home leftovers for their families to try, and both said they are bringing more people with them for the next class.

Since the event is only held once a month on the second Monday of every month, the class began a networking group on the app called “Band” to stay in touch between classes. On this app, the attendees can ask questions and interact with Alyssa outside of class. She is also able to post health tips and suggestions, new recipes weekly, and communicate cancellations and/or bonus classes offered.

The Fort Lupton and Carbon Valley Churches are pleased with the success of the first class and are prayerfully looking forward to the next class on February 12, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. when they expect return attendees as well as newcomers!

“Nothing will open doors for the truth like evangelistic medical missionary work … [this] is the right, helping hand of the gospel, to open doors for the proclamation of the message …” 1

—Alyssa Bahnmiller writes from the Fort Lupton Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos supplied.

 

1 White, E.G. (1946). Evangelism. Section 16-Medical Evangelism, EV 513.1-513.2.