Members of the Simi Valley church spent several weeks in Russia spreading the Word of God and giving advice on nutrition.

“A healthy body creates a healthy mind,” said Bob Stotz, MPH, a health educator with 17 years of hospital-based experience. “Anything that blocks my ability to think will block my ability to communicate with God. If I can have a healthier body, I’ll have a healthier mind and therefore have a better relationship with family, better self esteem and a better spiritual relationship within my church family, as well as my relationship with God.”

Simi Valley church members partnered with the Adventist organization in Russia and The Quiet Hour. Some presented lectures on health and family; lay evangelists Ed Cox and Grant Agadjanian presented messages from the Bible. Members Elvin Gaines, M.D., and Stotz spoke on nutrition and health; Anne Agadjanian translated.

“High blood pressure was common among Russian participants, but obesity was not as common as in the U.S.,” Stotz said. “They still eat better than we do—they make everything from scratch,” he said, adding that soup is a common staple because it is filling and low in calories. For dessert, they typically eat a croissant-type pastry instead of the high-caloric sweets Americans tend to eat.

“Many of them also don’t have cars,” Stotz continued, “so they walk everywhere.”

Simi Valley church also offers a lifestyle education program that provides practical tools and strategies to heal the whole person—body, mind, and soul.

“For instance, the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP), founded by Dr. Hans Diehl, director of Lifestyle medicine Institute of Loma Linda, offers simple, painless and deliberate lifestyle choices that can make all the difference in a person’s overall health,” said Stotz, who is one of the program instructors.

Sponsored by the church, the Simi Valley Hospital and the Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, the four-week program includes health lectures and assessments in blood pressure, hypertension and cholesterol levels.

“In Western countries, we have too many heart attacks, high blood pressure is on the rise and obesity is an epidemic,” Stotz said. “Unless we do something about it with parents and kids, we’re going to be in trouble.”

Since offering CHIP in Simi Valley in 2001, 54 participants have reported weight loss, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improved overall health. Diabetics also reduced medication needs and those who had trouble sleeping reduced their need for sleeping pills.

“We test at the end of the four weeks and see tremendous changes in that short amount of time,” said Stotz, Adventist Media Center associate director of human resources. He emphasized that CHIP is not a diet plan.

“What we’re doing is teaching people how to take charge of their own health…how much we exercise, the foods we eat and our ability to deal with stress all help determine if we're going to live a long and healthy life.” The Simi Valley church conducted its sixth CHIP program early in 2006, registering 22 individuals, including alumni.