Evangelical theology, health care, and the third way

In the context of American health care, considerable attention has been paid to health disparities based on both race and socioeconomic status. Scholars of public health and other social scientists agree that these inequities are enduring and tied to important social factors. Recently, community-based interventions have become popular to address population health and improve health outcomes. These projects that occur in the third sector are thought to be successful because of the full participation of community members who are familiar with local problems and prepared to design appropriate solutions. In many ways, community-based philosophy is consistent with the commitment to voluntarism found in Evangelical theology and religious practice. We, therefore, offer a framework for future collaboration and health policy dialogue in the third sector between community-based activists and American Evangelicals.