In Western Europe, Health-Focused Initiatives Can Open Doors, Leaders Say

From Sweden to Italy and from Portugal to Austria, lay-led ministries are opening doors for Seventh-day Adventist church members to share the church’s Bible-based health principles in Western Europe. In the process, as they help people live better lives, they are also introducing them to the gospel message, leaders of Outpost Centers International (OCI) recently said.

Outpost Centers International, the umbrella organization, which connects more than 400 supporting ministries that are not part of the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church, recently held its 2025 International Convention in Herghelia, Transylvania, Romania. During the May 7 to 10 event several of those ministries showcased what they are doing to share a message of wellness and wholesome life, and fund other mission-driven initiatives in the process.

A Gift From Heaven

Himmelsgåva—in Swedish, “gift of heaven”—is a family run health food store ministry located in the Åland Islands, a peaceful archipelago of thousands of small islands between Finland and Sweden. The Åland Islands are an autonomous, demilitarized, Swedish- speaking region of Finland.

The islands have 30,000 residents and 2.2 million visitors every year. “The potential is immense!” said the family behind Himmelsgåva, which opened in 2020. “It is a great joy to contribute to improved health in different ways. Be it physical, emotional, social, or spiritual. Himmelsgåva desires to be a taste of heaven for young and old.”

Himmelsgåva is ecologically certified to grow vegetables, fruits and berries, artisan food, eggs, and honey. Products are sold mainly on markets and in local stores. “We also offer massage therapy, handicraft embroidery from ADRA which started importing items from Pollywog in Bangladesh. Currently we are building a log house to make overnight stay possible for guests in the future,” they shared.

Life-Transforming Centers

Northeast of the Åland Islands, in the countryside near Gränna, Sweden, is MELLINS, a ministry that consists of MELLINS health food store and MELLINS webstore, and MELLINS health center and massage. Ministry leaders are now working to expand the health center in that small town, which welcomes 1 million tourists a year.

“In our health shop we sell vegan and mostly organic products,” founder Joel Mellin reported. Now the ministry is looking to fund the purchase of a new property that will allow them to expand. 

Hundreds of miles east of MELLINS, in Finland, is Koivikko Lifestyle Center, a ministry that seeks to “bring health and healing to Finland.” The rationale for it is simple, its leaders say. During  the past three decades “the Finnish Adventist membership has dropped 30 percent,” they explained. “Finland, ‘the happiest country in the world,’ is rife with lifestyle diseases of affluence.”

With personal sacrifices of time and money, church members helped to secure the purchase of an 83-acre (33.5-hectare) property and established a nonprofit foundation. Since purchasing it, the property has undergone significant renovations, ministry leaders reported. “The foundation board and company are 100 percent committed to seeing the church grow and thrive in Finland and are open to any collaboration or suggestion that will lead to success,” they said.

Health Centers as Teaching Ministries

In the southwest region ofWestern Europe, in Penela, Coimbra, Portugal, the VitaSalus® Wellness Center offers clinical services and health education programs. The ministry is the brainchild of the Association to Promote Preventive Medicine (APPM), established in 2003 with the goal improving the health of individuals and communities through the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits.

“Health is a state of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness,” VitaSalus leaders explain. “We recognize that health does not depend only on genetics or physical constitution. Factors such as lifestyle habits, socioeconomic conditions, and accessibility to health services contribute to the health of individuals and communities.”

APPM also participates in humanitarian projects, providing medical services and health education in disadvantaged communities such as refugee groups, predominantly outside of Portugal.

Almost 2,000 miles east is Biosalute, a family ministry located around the vineyards of the hills of Predappio, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Biosalute’s main initiative is an online wholesale health food store that provides the main source of income for the ministry’s mission activities.

In cooperation with local churches and communities, Biosalute organizes various lifestyle changing programs, educational activities, and produces health and educational programs for Hope Channel in Italy. The family also receives health guests for weekly health sessions during the summer months.

“The goal at Biosalute is to produce more programs for Hope Channel and Voice of Hope radio in Italy,” Penelope Franchetto, ministry leader, shared. “The team has received open doors to impact the whole Italian vegan community, which is growing quickly, by sponsoring famous vegan chefs with their products and connecting with the network of vegan restaurants and pizzerias throughout the country.”

Another health retreat and center of lifestyle medicine called Landhaus DIE ARCHE, this time in northeastern Germany, caters to 700-1,000 guest every year, offering programs to fight addictions, recover from depression, and live a healthier life. Health seminars and organic agriculture complement the offers of the center.

“Most people know that a change is good, and they long for change, but they don’t know how to,” center cofounder Gunther Hanke explained. “Our center aims to be a specialist in change.”

Up in the Mountains

Seven hours northwest from Biosalute is Sonnmatt and Gesundheitszentrum, a mountain guest house and health center in the Swiss Alps. Advertised as “a wonderful place to relax and recharge your batteries,” Sonnmatt offers “nature, silence, relaxation, and activity” at the same time.

The guest house, which is included in popular accommodation booking sites, offers its guests “tasty and healthy” vegetarian food that is “digestible, meatless wholefood, and fresh,” mountain hikes, and massages.

Again, seven hours away, but this time east of Sonnmatt, is Country Life Health Centre Mattersdorferhof, near the Italian-Slovenian border in Austria, which is advertised as a “holiday for soul, body, and spirit.” The Mattersdorferhof, as it is known, is “a small country house in the middle of a green oasis of peace, nestled in forests and meadows.”

Ministry leaders want their guests to know that health and happiness in life are no coincidence. “We are convinced that our Creator has made provision for the healing powers of plants and food, following a balanced lifestyle, using natural remedies, and trusting in God.” Unapologetically Christian, the center’s website explains that its “employees lead a life close to nature with a vegetarian diet, horticulture, [and] spiritual and physical activity to cultivate balance and joy.”

The center also conducts biblically oriented health education for young people locally, with a focus on reflection, education, manual work, and health, ministry leaders reported. “This wholistic offer is intended to bring body, soul, and spirit,” they said.

Outpost Centers International is an umbrella organization that connects lay-led ministries that support the Adventist mission and message. It is not part of the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church.