Health Ministries

Good health has long been a vital part of the mission, work, and message of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We believe that healing must include all facets of our well-being — physical, mental, social, and spiritual. The Health Ministries Department seeks to fulfil the two great commandments found in Matthew 22:37, 38:

1. By focusing on loving the Lord with all our heart (desires and emotions), soul (physical being), and mind (mental and spirituality)

2. By loving our neighbour as oneself (desiring for them health and sharing God’s plan for their well-being)

In the Health Department, we aim to cater for body, mind and soul; we endeavour to cultivate the health of the whole person. As we educate people in this area, we hope they will share and spread this knowledge, encouraging others to a healthier a lifestyle. We wholeheartedly embrace 3 John 2 which states, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Christ ministered to the whole person. “Christ feels the woes of every sufferer…And He is just as willing to heal the sick now as when He was personally on earth. Christ’s servants are His representatives, the channels for His working. He desires through them to exercise His healing power. (Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health, p. 30). The ministry of healing includes care and compassion for the sick and suffering and the maintenance of health.

What Do We Do?

Through its ministry of preaching, teaching, healing, and discipling the Church seeks to represent the mission of Jesus Christ in utilising the following programmes:

- Health Expos and Fairs

- Health Hikes, Run/Walk

- First Aid Training

- Breaking the Cycle of Addiction

* Alcohol Awareness

* Breath-Free (Smoking Cessation)

* Harmful Habits

- Healthy Food Preparation

- Mental Health Care

- Management of Lifestyle Diseases NCD’s

- Health Improvement Session

Vision: Our vision is to help people discover and live an ‘abundant’ life. We want to inspire and empower people to achieve whole-person health as defined through the 7 Dimensions of Wellness – emotional, physical, social, vocational, intellectual, environmental and spiritual. We encourage you to live your best life and make a positive impact in the community!

NEWSTART: This is an acronym for a healthier lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest and trust). An important part of Health Ministries is prevention. Early detection, screening and preventative interventions are promoted to help people protect against health risks. The department tries to keep updated on policies and targets, ensuring that good practice is implemented.

NEWSTART IMAGE

CELEBRATIONS: Living Life to the Fullest, is an acronym for 12 healthful living principles: Choices, Exercise, Liquid, Environment, Belief, Rest, Air, Temperance, Integrity, Optimism, Nutrition, Social Support and Services. Central to the Adventist philosophy on health is an interest in every aspect of human life, or wholesome living. The “whole” here relates to body, mind, emotions, spiritual dimensions, and social interactions. It is, therefore, with pleasure that we bring you this offering of an acronym that carries within it both the secrets of a healthful lifestyle and an exuberant appreciation of the joy of living well.

Our key strategies are to:

1. To be leaders in healthy lifestyle promotion

2. Become a trusted provider of personalised, individual and group health support programmes

3. Continue to be leaders in good nutrition and food choices

4. Provide world-class healthcare at H. S. Walters Health and Outreach Centre

5. Grow and empower our advocates and churches as centres of health influence