Health is wealth. The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church upholds this fact to be both life-changing and life-saving evidenced in the launching of the program, Heal Thy Lifestyle: Where Healing Meets Daily Living. In Southeastern Caraga Mission, the Health Department led by SCM Health Director, Pastor Minoru Efren Estrada, launched the said program on October 10-11, 2025 at Forest Hills Academy, Magkiangkang, Bayugan, Agusan del Sur.
Goals of Heal Thy Lifestyle are four-fold: first, to provide resources and uniform health monitoring tools to health coordinators in churches and districts so they can effectively conduct health profiling and assessment among church members; second, to encourage members to know and understand their individual health conditions through regular health screening and profiling; third, to use the results of health profiling to design programs intended for specific health conditions; and fourth, to create a church-wide movement that motivates officers and members to model healthy living as they launch their own localized Heal Thy Lifestyle program.
Southern Asia-Pacific Health Director, Dr. Ma. Rizaline Alfanoso, together with Southeastern Philippine Union Mission Health Director Pastor Victor Navarro, graced the said event and served as keynote speakers and lecturers. Other lecturers included SePUM Vice-President for Adventist Mental Health Professionals Association Miss Louiela Jane Angcon (RPsy), President of SCM Adventist Health Professionals Association Dr. Elmore Lumpay, and SCM Health Department Office Assistant Cherianne Love Durano (MSN).
Lectures and messages strengthened the promotion of the program: “The Blue Zone Church: Zooming-in Health Ministries in the Revival and Reformation of the Church” by Pastor Victor Navarro; “Heal Habits, Heal Life: A Lifestyle Glow-up for the Mind” by Ma’am Louiela Jane Angcon; “Heal They Lifestyle—The Launching” by Dr. Ma. Rizaline Alfanoso; “Health Profiling for Church Health Monitoring” by Ma’am Cherianne Love Durano; and “Data Privacy Act” by Dr. Elmore Lumpay.
“Heal Thy Lifestyle launching is a very significant event for our mission because this program includes health preservation and disease prevention through lifestyle revival and health profiling of every member and through this program we ensure proper health condition among our beloved church members,” SCM Health Director Pastor Minoru Efren Estrada, commented.
“One of the most important points that struck me in the lectures was the importance of mental health among our church members; if mental health issues are not addressed, conflicts in the church will tend to aggravate and this can cause further problems later on, so I am thankful for the launching of Heal Thy Lifestyle because it can help our health coordinators to promote not only healing of the body but also healing of the mind as we continue serving the Lord,” Magkiangkang District Pastor Paul Roma, shared.
“Embracing a healthy lifestyle involves making deliberate choices daily, adopting a holistic approach that nurtures the interconnected aspects of overall well-being—body, mind, and spirit, and by cultivating self-awareness and emotional resilience to achieve harmony and a more fulfilling life; as a church health coordinator, I find this approach very helpful for church members to be restored and healed from physical illness–and be able to achieve optimum health potential which is basically a need to effectively perform Gods work in his vineyard,” San Miguel District delegate and a registered nurse Ma’am Junevie Orendain-Salcedo, explained.
“As health professionals and coordinators, we are called to be agents of change and sources of hope, guiding our brethren as they begin their journey to a healthier lifestyle,” Ma’am Cherianne Love Durano, one of the lecturers, pointed out.
Attended by over 300 church health coordinators, elders, and health-advocate brethren, the said event empowered participants with knowledge and skills needed to help members understand their current health status, adopt healthier lifestyles, and inspire others to do the same.
