In last week’s Health Tip #743 we began a series sharing how Hallelujah Acres has been first in so many areas. In this Health Tip we want to continue that journey...
Hallelujah Acres Has Its Beginning
On February 12th 1992, Hallelujah Acres had its beginning when Rhonda and I opened an 11-foot-wide storefront on Main Street in Rogersville, Tennessee. In that tiny restaurant and health food store, we began serving vegan foods and proclaiming a health message to the Christian community. The message we proclaimed to the Christian community (and to anyone else who would listen) was: “You Don’t Have to be Sick”, and if you are already sick, “How to Eliminate Sickness” through a simple diet and lifestyle change called “The Hallelujah Diet” — based on God’s original diet for mankind in Genesis 1:29. Slowly, people began applying this Hallelujah health message and testimonies of healing began surfacing in churches across the land and across the land and even in other countries. By 1994, some of those who had seen their physical and psychological problems disappear as a result of making this diet and lifestyle change began asking if we would teach them how to share the Hallelujah health message with fellow Christians.
Health Minister Training Begins
In August 1994, in response to these requests, Hallelujah Acres held its first Health Minister Training. That first training was conducted in a building still under construction, on a mountaintop in east Tennessee. The floor was still plywood, windows were not yet installed, and attendees sat on 2-by-10 wooden planks resting on concrete blocks. That first Health Minister Training established Hallelujah Acres as the first Christian ministry to train others on how to spread its message of health and healing, based on Genesis 1:29. There were 25 Christians attending that extremely humble first Health Minister training. Since then, the number of people who have completed Health Minister Training has grown to over 10,000, with trained Health Ministers now located in every state in the United States and in at least 48 other countries. Today, when a person in a church requests prayers for a recent diagnosis of cancer or other serious physical problem, it is not unusual for people to encourage that person to want to learn more about an alternative to the traditional, immune-destroying modalities of modern medicine.
Even though we have over 10,000 trained Health Ministers, we feel that our Health Ministry is still in its infancy! We continue to receive requests from across America and around the world to come to their city or country to train them as Health Ministers. We are currently looking into the possibility of putting Health Minister training online so that those, especially in other countries, can obtain training. Last year we had 30 Nigerians registered to come to Hallelujah Acres in Shelby, North Carolina for Health Minister Training — but only two were able to obtain visas. Friends, here at Hallelujah Acres we are dreaming BIG dreams, just as we have been dreaming big dreams for the past 20 years. We believe that with God, all things (even BIG dreams) are possible. Our goal is that someday, in some way, every church in the world will have a trained Hallelujah Acres Health Minister to minister to the sick in their individual churches and communities. This is why we are so thrilled when pastors attend Health Minister training (over 800 pastors have been through training thus far) or have sent someone from their church to be trained. Currently, in most churches across America and around the world, all the pastor can offer those with serious physical problems is prayer and then encourage them to go to a doctor. But now imagine if a trained Health Minister was in the church. The pastor would be able to refer the sick to a trained Health Minister who can share with them how to recover from their physical problems through a biblically-based, simple, diet and lifestyle change. They would be able to rebuild their immune system so their body's self-healing abilities could be restored. I personally encourage you to consider Health Minister Training! Click here for more information and watch for news concerning online Health Minister Training!
First To Publish Books About Genesis 1:29 Diet
Why Christians Get Sick my first book, written in 1988 (four years before Hallelujah Acres had its beginning) was first published in 1989. It was the first book directed to the Christian community, warning of the dangers of consuming the Standard American Diet (SAD), and encouraging them to adopt God’s Genesis 1:29 diet. This book was originally self-published, but later picked up by Destiny Image. To this day, “Why Christians Get Sick” results in more positive feedback all of my other books combined. Over a million copies of this book are now in print, and it is now available in several languages.
“God's Way To Ultimate Health”
My second book, God's Way To Ultimate Health, was first published in 1995. It is a large book that promotes God's Genesis 1:29 diet and contains over 300 testimonies from folks who have had their health restored after changing their eating habits to line up with The Hallelujah Diet.
The Hallelujah Diet
My latest book, The Hallelujah Diet, was first published in 2006. Whether you've been on the diet for a while, or you're just starting out, this book will guide, encourage, and inform you on your journey to optimal health.
First Recipe Books Promoting Genesis 1:29 Diet
When Rhonda adopted a modified Genesis 1:29 diet (what would become The Hallelujah Diet) in 1990 due to her debilitating arthritis, she was completely healed within a year. At the time, there were no recipe books available that matched this diet. So, she set out to write one. Rhonda, like me, had never written a book before, no less a recipe book. It took her two years to write Recipes For Life...From God's Garden and it turned out to be a tremendous success! The book has 358 pages containing over 400 recipes that fit The Hallelujah Diet. Over 250,000 copies of this spiral bound book are now in print. In fact, in 2011 it was the best selling book of all the books Hallelujah Acres sells! Rhonda has since written two more books: “Hallelujah Holiday Recipes”, and “Salad Dressings For Life from God’s Garden”. Rhonda is currently working on her forth recipe book due from the publisher later this year. Be watching for its release!
First Online Christian Health Ministry
While there have been, for many years, Christian ministries with websites that promote the spiritual aspects of life, until Hallelujah Acres came along in 1997, there was not another Christian ministry promoting healthy living. To this day, Hallelujah Acres remains the worldwide leader in this category.
First Christian Ministry To Publish Online Health Tips
In 1997, along with the introduction of our Hallelujah Acres website, we began publishing a weekly, email-based Health Tip, geared to the Christian community, encouraging them to God’s original Genesis 1:29 Diet. The number of subscribers to this Health Tip has grown from just a few in the early days to nearly 100,000 subscribers today. Every week there is a feature article, usually an answered question, a recipe from Rhonda, testimonies, and an update on what is happening at Hallelujah Acres. Over 700 previous Health Tips are available by clicking the "wall clock" image on the right hand side of the Health Tip home page.
Next week... the good Lord willing and if the creeks don’t rise too high, we will continue sharing other “firsts" Hallelujah Acres has been responsible for. Amazingly, the list is quite long and has had a tremendous influence on the health information being shared today by others around the world. Trust you will join us.
