In January 2020, Tanaeya Burch accepted the Health Ministries leader position for the Hamilton church in Hamilton, Bermuda. In her newly-appointed role, she, along with her team, wanted to bring the church family together in a fresh, new, and fun way. This led them to search for an innovative and exciting solution which they found in MoveSpring.
MoveSpring is a step and activity challenge platform that is fun and easy to use. It uses various step challenge modes to accommodate a wide range of users. The use of ultra-competitive leaderboards and streak modes keeps participants engaged.
Their first challenge was the “Let’s Move 2020” challenge, a six-week, 7,000 steps-a-day challenge divided into general and senior categories, depending on age. They had a great response, with 130 participants.
Their goal was to introduce a challenge that catered to various activity levels and was engaging for everyone. The challenge chat rooms were the life of the party. Users mastered the art of friendly teasing to egg on the competition. People of all activity levels made their daily step goal a priority, and members adapted healthy habits. There was an enticing balance of competition and fun.
A second challenge, “Keepin’ It Together, From Afar,” was started in March 2020, just after the coronavirus lockdown. The team felt the need to keep the members engaged and moving, despite the reality of having to be apart.
With rising stress levels, keeping healthy and mobile were good things that helped to decrease stress levels, as increased stress compromises the immune system and puts persons at a greater risk of any illness, not just the coronavirus. Exercise gets the immune system in gear.
“Keepin’ It Together, From Afar” had participants join a virtual long-distance race in which they had to track their progress, in real-time, on a 50-mile international globetrot. During physical distancing, they used this challenge to stay connected, keep moving, and stay healthy.
Their most recent challenge, “We’ve Only Just Begun in 2021,” was a five-week challenge that is in line with the church’s theme for this year. They wanted to begin the year on a healthy footing and the members were ready for the challenge. They had 70 challenge participants. They added new modes to give it a twist, like a group target of 20 million steps. Their objective was to help everyone to stay healthy, happy, and connected.
David Steede II, the church’s pastor, gave his full support to the challenge. “At the start of 2020, Hamilton was blessed with a new Health Ministries leader in Tanaeya Burch. No one knew that God placed her in this role for such a time as this, ably leading and guiding churches, both locally and internationally, through COVID times. But before the pandemic, she led Hamilton into an amazing MoveSpring Challenge. We competed as a church family to see who could walk the most steps over five weeks. It was exciting and invigorating as everyone checked in every night to see who was in the lead. As the pastor, I felt the need to lead the way and competed till the very end, only to get the flu the last few days [of the challenge] and finish second. It was eye-opening to see the many avid walkers. Those involved felt a keen sense of community and encouragement. The challenge ended with a great Sunday walk fellowship and prize-giving moment. We were all blessed, and now it is an annual event we look forward to starting each new year.”
The winner of the first challenge, in the general category, was Jamal Albuoy. “My wife and I joined the MoveSpring Challenge last year, organized by our Health Ministries department. It was an awesome experience to be active, but it was another way of connecting with our church family outside of our usual Sabbath worship experience. The friendly competition was great, and at the end of the challenge, I was privileged to win, beating out our pastor (who proved to be a valiant competitor). Participating with my wife was very motivating as we encouraged each other to live the best version of ourselves, in doing something healthy together. I’m reminded of 3 John 1:2, which says, “Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit” (NLT).
In the senior category, the winner of the first challenge, Alsena Russell, shared, “I thought I couldn’t do this. I’m too old, and I have a knee problem. Well, I started anyway, and after the first week, I felt pretty good. With encouragement from family and friends and some Kinesio tape, I completed the challenge. I was motivated to continue walking . . . and [now] have a better outlook on what I can accomplish.”
—Health Ministries department, Hamilton church
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