Co-op Partners—Charter Communications and Trinity Broadcasting Network—Tip the Scales to Promote Better Health and Fitness at the Community Level

(Los Angeles) —- When most people think of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), they think of TBN as the world’s largest religious network or America’s most watched faith channel. In fact, TBN is both.

So how did TBN get involved with hosting a fitness competition?

“When Charter Communications called and asked TBN to become involved in a cooperative effort with its ‘Get Hooked on Health’ St. Louis Expo last January, we were glad to do so,” says Gary Hodges, a Regional Director for Affiliate Sales at TBN.

After Charter asked TBN to help with the campaign, David Adcock, National Director of Affiliate Sales for TBN, came up with the idea to have a contest among the churches in St Louis. It was later named the “TBN Faith & Fitness Challenge.”

“Although the contest with the churches helped get the faith community to participate in the Charter health campaign, I knew that this would help to promote weight loss and healthy living among the church members in St. Louis,” says Adcock.

“The goal of the Expo was to encourage the people of the St. Louis community to make healthy lifestyle choices in the areas of nutrition and exercise. TBN’s Faith & Fitness Challenge provided a compelling incentive for the St. Louis faith community to address ‘real issues’ using ‘real solutions’ while activating their faith to empower a positive health transformation,” announced Amy Fihn, TBN's Affiliate Promotions Manager.

And the results are in for TBN’s Faith & Fitness Challenge, and the winner is—Williams Temple of St. Louis!

“Williams Temple was the biggest winner, or should we say ‘loser,’ says Fihn with a big smile. “They showed up and showed off—spectacularly— in TBN’s 12-week challenge to see which churches in the St. Louis area could lose the most pounds and inches. We are so thrilled for them!”

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association announced that “Excess food intake will soon be a bigger killer of Americans than inhalation of tobacco.” Other recent studies have shown that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institute for Health, has said that obesity has become a public health emergency.

With such disturbing facts, it was not surprising that TBN’s booth at the expo was hosted by some of the world’s top experts in health and beauty. This included well known naturopathic doctor, Valerie Saxion, and a team of other health and fitness experts who “shared” free advice and handed out nutritional samples. Nationally known Hollywood makeup artist, Peter Lamas, helped ladies with makeup and clothing tips. Celebrity hairstylist, Jay Humphries, also offered hair care instruction at the busy TBN booth.

TBN’s presence was a strategic part of the overwhelming success of the Expo according to Paul Sly, VP for Advertising Sales, Charter Advertising St. Louis.

“TBN’s Faith & Fitness Challenge was an integral part of Charter's inaugural Get Hooked on Health Expo,” says Sly.

According to Sly, TBN had “the most active area” at the Expo all weekend long. “The TBN faithful were stacked up four and five deep to learn more about the Faith & Fitness Challenge. Of the more than 35,000 Expo attendees, many walked through the door saying, ‘I'm here because of TBN.’”

“Through its unique partnership with TBN, Charter Communications was able to leverage TBN’s strong influence within the faith community to drive more participation impacting the overall success of the Get Hooked on Health campaign,” reports Fihn. “It was a real win-win situation for everyone involved.”

According to Sly, “TBN should be commended for taking the lead in promoting health and fitness by providing valuable information and encouragement to individuals and families. Charter values its relationship with TBN.”

Because of its victory, the Pastor of Williams Temple received an all-expensed paid trip to Los Angeles to appear on TBN. Williams Temple, though, was not the only winner. Transformation Christian Church was first runner up. Individuals who won makeovers included Whitney Compton and Patty Femmer.

Testimonies of the success of the Faith & Fitness Challenge have been plentiful.

“TBN’s Faith & Fitness Challenge contest truly changed my life,” says Marilyn Davis of Williams Temple. Davis was the biggest weight loser on the winning team. “I lost 8 sizes.”

“The twelve week Faith & Fitness Challenge helped us to grow spiritually and shrink physically,” declares Honorable Mention recipients, Matt and Jessica Christensen, a couple who combined their resources to lose weight.

According to Fihn, TBN has traditionally been about promoting a healthy soul, but the network is also interested in promoting physical health as well.

“TBN cares about the whole person,” she says.

TBN features a variety of health and fitness programs, including such popular programs as “Totalee Fit” with Lee Haney and “Doctor to Doctor.”

“Doctor to Doctor” features a cross section of today’s leading healthcare professionals discussing health issues that affect all of us. Past topics have included “How do we stay healthy in today's fast paced lifestyle? and How can a person bring balance back into his or her life?”

“Doctor to Doctor” offers real answers to life’s often tough questions from a biblical perspective.

For more information about TBN please visit www.tbn.org. TBN is the world’s largest religious network and America’s most-watched faith channel. TBN offers 24 hours of commercial-free inspirational programming that appeals to people in a wide variety of denominations. Faith-based programs include gospel music concerts, informative talk shows, and contemporary music videos. There are also enriching programs for children, health and fitness shows, news and information programs, as well as theatrical-released movies and uplifting worship services from America’s premier churches. TBN now reaches every major continent via 46 satellites and over 10,000 television and cable affiliates worldwide. In the United States, TBN is available to 92% of the total households. Its website receives over 25 million visitors monthly.

For more information about Charter Communications please visit www.charter.com. Charter Communications is a Fortune 500 company that specializes in cutting edge digital entertainment and communications. Charter Communications is a broadband communications company that provides a full range of advanced broadband services to the home, including cable television on an advanced digital video programming platform via Charter Digital™ and Charter High-Speed™ Internet Service. Charter also provides business to business video, data and Internet protocol (IP) solutions.