Welcome to Northeastern Conference Health Ministries
We exist to share hope and wholeness through the healing power of Jesus Christ to all peoples in our physical and virtual territories. Health Ministries is one of the major ministries within the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
The Northeastern Conference is one of six conferences that makes up the Atlantic Union, covering the northeast United States which includes New York, the six New England states, and the islands of Bermuda.
Our Conference is comprised of a diversified membership of more the 61,000 Seventh-day Adventist believers stretching across seven states in the Northeastern section of the United States: New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine.
This website offers resources and tools for Health Ministry Leaders, Gospel Medical Missionaries, Youths, Medical Professionals, Pastors, and Teachers in our churches and schools to engage, uplift, and empower them to serve intelligently, wisely, and with passion.
Here you will find motivation, education, and information resources to support you on your personal journey to better health. God’s desire is to bring us to a healthier place and to bring us together with Him and each other.
Let’s walk this journey together.
Our Mission
The mission of the NEC Health Ministries department is: Sharing hope and wholeness through the healing power of Christ.
Our Vision
The vision of Health Ministries is to equip and inspire all church members to practically share the love of God to all in need and point them to the Great Physician, Jesus.
Our Values
We believe in four foundational principles that guide our philosophy and work, quoted below from the General Conference Adventist Health Ministries (http://healthministries.com):
Inspiration
We believe the Word of God is the very best guide to making careful and wise choices in every area of life, including those things that impact our health. We are also grateful for the amplification these Biblical principles in the writings of Ellen G. White.
Evidence
We operate under the conviction that God is the author of all true science. Therefore, we respect evidence which stands up to the rigors of careful examination and analysis according to accepted scientific principles. We believe this is vital in a world filled with misinformation and falsehood.
Balance
Even good things can be taken to excess. Therefore, we are deeply committed to balance–physical, mental, social, and spiritual–in every aspect of life to support health, happiness, and healing.
Relationships
Social support is essential to human existence and health. Positive relationships with family, friends, community, and God play a significant role in personal health, productivity, and our ability to help others. It supports and aids healing as well.
Our History
Joseph Bates, pioneer of the Adventist church, began working for the cause of temperance as early as 1827. But the first united move to start a temperance program came in 1863 with the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
In the April 1877 issue of the Health Reformer, Ellen White penned the words, “True temperance teaches us to abstain entirely from that which is injurious, and to use judiciously only healthful and nutritious articles of food.”
Shortly after that the church organized the American Health and Temperance Association, which later became the International Health and Temperance Association. In 1893 the Adventist Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association was organized for overall guidance of the denomination’s medical work, including temperance, with J. H. Kellogg, M.D., as president.
In 1905 the Medical Missionary Department (or council) of the General Conference was organized. The temperance work, however, continued to be conducted primarily by the American Temperance Society, and later by a separate Temperance Department.
The Medical Missionary Department name was changed to the Medical Department at the General Conference and, in the late 1960s, the name was changed to Health Department. In 1980, when departments were being downsized, it was voted to combine the departments of Health and Temperance, and later in 1996 the North American Division recommended that the name Health and Temperance Department be changed to Adventist Health Ministries Department.
For more interesting dates in the development of Adventist Health Ministries, view the 2009 article in AdventistReview.