Katie Fellows
Katie Fellows
Katie Fellows
AdventHealth demonstrated how health care is a vital expression of health ministry for the Seventh-day Adventist Church during the 2025 General Conference Session, July 3-12, 2025, in St. Louis, Mo.
AdventHealth joined Adventist HealthCare, Kettering Health, Adventist Health, and Loma Linda University Health during the global Conference to demonstrate the importance of whole-person care, which focuses on body, mind, and spirit.
“While we are different systems, we are connected through purpose,” said Tim Cook, senior vice president and chief mission integration officer at AdventHealth. “We do not compete, we collaborate, both with each other and the Church; and, being organized this way allows for organic growth throughout the country to build meaningful relationships in our communities, that expands the influence and message of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”
The “Experience Wholeness: Together in Mission” health care exhibit gave thousands of Conference attendees from around the world the opportunity to explore how body, mind, and spirit come together to create a balanced, fulfilling life for people and communities.
“Each system came together as a collaborative team over the past 12 months to bring to life the vision for ‘Experience Wholeness: Together in Mission,’” said Garrett Caldwell, executive director for external communications at AdventHealth. “The exhibit sought to engage our guests in active reflection on their responsibility to care for their own physical, mental, and spiritual health.”
Within the exhibit were three interactive activations: “Body Compass,” created a health persona based on user entries to suggest different ways to increase vitality; “Mind Journey” experience provided direction for mental and emotional wellbeing, and “Spirit of Reflection Tree” gave Conference attendees the opportunity to handwrite notes and prayers of gratitude, hope, healing, and peace.
“My favorite was the Reflection Tree,” said Christian Ledesma, recruitment manager at AdventHealth University. “While many of our displays focused on innovation and technology, this analog experience … became our most visited activation — proof that people still crave connection, still want to be heard, and still find comfort in prayer. The prayers shared there made the entire trip worth it.”
The five health systems had the opportunity to share on the General Conference Session main stage on the last Sabbath of the event. All five presidents and Caldwell showcased stories of their systems’ impact, and the hope they bring through Christ-centered healing.
“The mainstage presentation [brought] Church members from around the world into our facilities and our communities to see the impact of our presence,” said Caldwell. “Our health care facilities are not merely transactional facilities that provide healing services; we are community anchors who bear the responsibility for the health of millions of lives who depend on us. We want our Church to see how seriously we take the mission that drives us, and how deeply meaningful our ministry is to those we serve. We see the stories every day. We want to share a glimpse of that with our Church.”
AdventHealth is championing the power of whole-person care through a nationwide network of more than 105,000 skilled professionals and 2,000 care sites. By bringing together people committed to faith-based health care, AdventHealth is advancing its mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ.
“AdventHealth’s legacy is tied to the heart of the Adventist Church,” said Cook. “The commitment and mission of Advent- Health to ensure broken people find not just exceptional clinical care, but, equally, healing for their spiritual and mental health, has not changed. We are proud of our heritage and the synergistic ministry we share with the Church. Our presence showed our collaborative heart for broken people. We all want people to experience Christ’s healing ministry!”
AdventHealth | September 2025
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