Church Committee Engagement in and Evaluation of an Online Faith-Based Training in a National Implementation Study

Training is a commonly used implementation strategy to prepare organizational change agents in a variety of settings. Online training has the potential for more efficient and cost-effective scale-up of evidence-based interventions, but in-depth analysis of training engagement, especially in settings such as churches, is lacking. This study reported engagement with and evaluation of an online training for churches in the national implementation study of Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN), an evidence-based program that targets church practices. Churches (N = 107) from 23 U.S. states (74.8% predominantly African American) and 442 committee members enrolled. Church committees, led by FAN coordinators, registered for the eight-lesson online training. Regarding training engagement, committee members completed 4.8±3.7 of eight lessons, and most who started the training finished it. They posted 1.8±3.0 times on the discussion board. Lesson completion and discussion board posts were higher among FAN coordinators and women and those older and not employed (p <.05). Just below half (42%) of churches submitted a FAN program plan, with submission more likely when the FAN coordinator completed the training or when the pastor completed at least one lesson (p <.05). Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative data showed favorable evaluations of the online training. The absence of differences in training engagement by education and race and the more favorable associations with increased age are highly promising indicators that this training can be scaled up to reach diverse learners. FAN coordinators, however, may need strategies to engage other committee members to initiate training.