The European Congress on Adventist Lifestyle Centers was held in Coimbra, Portugal, from May 30–June 3, 2023, bringing together 226 participants from around the world. Discussions centered around the role, function, and mission opportunities opened by lifestyle centers driven by the Adventist health message.

During the days of the congress, participants had the opportunity to attend presentations on the Adventist health message and the role of lifestyle centers, as well as participate in panels and workshops on more practical aspects of founding, developing, and operating these facilities.

Lifestyle centers 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 centers in fulfilling the purpose of highlighting health within the framework of the three angels' messages—in particular, the third angel's message:

“Lifestyle centers 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."

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 centers 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 (EUD) is committed to supporting these centers and the support ministries that generally bring them into existence.

"Our aim is to make people's lives better and lead them to know our 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 Mário 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 centers and institutional support for their operation:

Hear about the importance of health in the Adventist message from Peter Landless, director of the Health Ministries Department for the General Conference:

The congress took place in the Convent of St. Francis, a 17th-century monument located in the historic city of Coimbra. Just over 30 kilometers away is the VitaSalus clinic, a lifestyle center that has been in existence for almost two decades. Congress participants had the opportunity to visit the center 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 both Health Ministries for the EUD and VitaSalus, said, "The role of a lifestyle center 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 VitaSalus center and good advice on how to start a healthy lifestyle center:

Watch the highlights of the congress in Coimbra:

The original version of this story was posted by the Inter-European Division website.