The European Congress on Adventist Lifestyle Centres was held in Coimbra, Portugal, May 30-June 3, bringing together 226 participants from around the world. Discussions centred around the role, function and mission opportunities opened by lifestyle centres driven by the Adventist health message.
(To learn more about the history of lifestyle centres in the Adventist Church, read here: https://adventist.news/news/adventist-church-to-host-european-conference-on-adventist-lifestyle-centers-in-portugal)
During the days of the Congress, participants had the opportunity to attend presentations on the Adventist health message and the role of lifestyle centres, as well as participate in panels and workshops on more practical aspects of founding, developing and operating these facilities.
Lifestyle centres are an invaluable tool for the Adventist health message and practice in that, in addition to providing treatments tailored to each person, they teach and promote healthy habits to all who benefit from them. Ted Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, emphasized the missionary role of these centres in fulfilling the purpose of highlighting health within the framework of the three angels' message, in particular the third angel's message.
“Lifestyle centres are one of God's methods to reach the large cities of the world," Wilson stated. "People can come for a renovation, a complete lifestyle change. It's an important way that people can see Seventh-day Adventists, in a supporting, caring setting, who are helping them through the challenges they are facing ,especially in the area of health," he added.
See the full interview with Ted Wilson:
In addition to the Congress, Pastor Wilson talks about the recent “Christ for Europe” campaign in Prague:
Lifestyle centres are very useful tools for health promotion and as a form of first contact with the people and the communities in which they are located. For this reason, in a secular environment such as Europe, the Inter-European Division is committed to supporting these centres, as well as the support ministries that generally bring them into existence.
"Our aim is to make people's lives better and lead them to know or whole message," said Mário Brito, president of the Division. "People's health is getting worse. People are searching for solutions. Now is the time to come and help people."
Watch and listen to the interview with Mario Brito, Inter-European Division President, on Health Ministries opportunities for the mission of the Church:
"I am amazed by how many people are here. It shows interest. We are very happy to see the great response we have," affirmed Norbert Zens, EUD treasurer. He also addressed the help of supporting ministries to the health message of the Church: "We want to help members to improve their contribution and to work together with them."
Watch and listen to the interview of Norbert Zens, Inter-European Division Treasurer, on lifestyle centres and institutional support for their operation:
Hear about the importance of Health in Adventist message from Peter Landless, director of the Health Ministries Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists:
The Congress took place in the Convent of St. Francis, a seventeenth-century monument located in the historic city of Coimbra, in central Portugal. Just over 30 kilometres away is the Vital Salus clinic, a lifestyle centre which has been in existence for almost two decades. Congress participants had the opportunity to visit the centre, on Wednesday afternoon, and get to know the facilities, the working methods, and the practical results in the lives of hundreds of people who have passed by it.
Viriato Ferreira, director of the Department of Health Ministries and director of Vita Salus, said that "the role of a lifestyle centre is to give people, Adventists and non-Adventists [alike], an opportunity to come back to an experience of strengthening: first of all their relationship with God, secondly their relationship with others, and finally their body. That involves diet, exercise, sunlight exposure, and also the healing of relationships".
Watch the full interview by Viriato Ferreira and learn about the history of the Vita Salus centre and good advice on how to start a healthy lifestyle centre:
(Learn more about the Vita Salus Clinic: https://www.vitasalus.org )
Watch the highlights of the Congress in Coimbra:
