God is interested in His people, no matter the shape of their earth suits, say the slimmer proponents of a wildly successful nutrition program whose participants are introducing many folks of all shapes and sizes to Christ.

Sheila Robbins went from 320 pounds to 170.

"I lost a whole extra person I was carrying around, but I gained a new me," recalls Robbins who has kept off the weight for 12 years.She cares deeply for First Place attendees like herself who thought because she was obese she was unlovable and life was barely worth living. And she uses their attention to her weight loss as an opportunity to be evangelistically active by telling them about Christ

"People began asking me, 'How are you doing it, Sheila?' The weight loss was so obvious they had to ask! And my answer was to tell them not only about the food and exercise program but about First Place's emphasis on prayer and Bible study. I found myself witnessing about Christ to people--good friends, total strangers, anyone who had been watching me shrink to half my former size."

Robbins says before her weight loss, she doubts she would have witnessed about Christ. Self-conscious because of her size, she was painfully shy and withdrawn. And she was frustrated by attempts to lose weight on her own, feeling like a failure when she couldn't control her food cravings, even after having her stomach stapled.
"I felt like I got my life back. And not only can I attribute the weight loss to the Lord, He also opened so many doors of opportunity to me."

She tells about a man at her former job who noticed her new shape taking place, a svelte Sheila replacing the heavy Sheila. Nearly every week he would inquire how much weight she had lost. Finally, the door opened for Robbins to talk to him about Christ.

"It turned out he had cancer. Before he died he wrote me a letter saying 'Sheila, your testimony is what led me to Christ.' I know when he died he went to be with the Lord."

First Place began in 1981 at Houston's First Baptist Church. It was created by a dozen men and women who applied biblical principles to balanced nutrition, regular exercise and other healthful habits. The name was inspired by Matthew 6:33 ("Seek first the kingdom of God...") to remind participants to "place Christ first in their hearts and in all their daily priorities," according to Carol Lewis, national director of the program which has chapters in 12,000 churches, every U.S. state and 13 foreign countries.

Using a food plan, exercise program, Bible study and prayer, overweight people began to flock to First Place in the early days. Many lost impressive amounts of weight.

But then something surprising happened. God began to use First Place to draw people to Him. As the pounds melted off, others took notice. Witnessing opportunities opened up, and many unsaved people began attending the meetings to learn about weight loss--and to hear about God as a bonus.

"At almost every session we hear about people who accepted Christ as a direct result of First Place," says  Lewis. "The change in physical appearance is a natural door opener for talking about internal changes, heart changes. As the program has evolved over the years, it's become as much about evangelizing asabout weight loss. And what's wonderful is seeing people who already had self-esteem problems learn how much the Lord loves them. It motivates them to change unhealthy patterns as well as to get to know Him who made them."

--Carolyn Curtis