In an unusual partnership, the Fresno Central Adventist Church and the local Veterans Affairs Central California Health Care System co-sponsored an eight-week Wellness Challenge in March and April 2008. Nearly 80 people — veterans, church members and others — attended the weekly meetings, lost 109 pounds collectively and improved their health.

The classes were conducted by Vanessa Greer, an acute care nurse practitioner for emergency and pulmonary services at the VA and a Fresno Central member. She’s been presenting wellness programs since 1989.

But that is only the tip of the story.

In early 2007, Greer was asked to do a wellness program at the hospital by the VA’s Wellness Committee. She requested a team of helpers and set to work. Within two months, the team had disintegrated. She put the idea on the back burner.

Inspiration hit in the fall when Greer read the first chapter of Ministry of Healing.

“It’s very specific about what Jesus’ life was all about — prayer, solitude, service and hospitality,” she says. She then read through the New Testament, focusing on those four areas. As she prayed and studied, a plan for a unique health program began to take shape.

“I realized that our physical health cannot be corrected unless our spiritual health is corrected,” says Greer. She began to plan the Eight-Week Wellness Challenge with a unique twist at the beginning. Inspired by her daughter Savonna’s experiences with the three-week summer Teen Bible Academy, Greer added two Sabbath afternoons to focus on becoming spiritually healthy.

Twenty-five church members showed up for a study on prayer, solitude, service and hospitality. Spiritually refreshed, everyone decided to help with the outreach. “I think service is the missing piece,” says Greer. “People need to realize their place in the puzzle.”

Now with helpers, Greer told the hospital team that she could do a wellness program if she could hold it at the Fresno Central church. They agreed to co-sponsor and advertize the event.

Attendees enjoyed the encouragement of fellow guests, cooking and exercise demonstrations. Topics covered included healthy weight loss and gain, cardiovascular health, reversing diabetes through diet, osteoporosis and exercise, prevention of cancer and gastrointestinal problems, a supermarket tour at WINCO, non-drug therapeutics, and prevention and treatment of depression.

“Vanessa’s lectures were educational and practical. And she made a vegan diet simple and palatable,” remembers Larry Pyburn, an elder at Fresno Central and a surgical technician. He and wife Aileen attended the meetings faithfully. They lost weight and say, “We’ve changed our lifestyle for good. We’d recommend the program to anybody.”

Some of Greer’s VA patients attended, too. One man asked her a lot of health questions during his appointment. “I invited him to the Wellness Challenge. He and his wife came to the whole thing and had a great experience,” she says.

Greer made an important personal discovery. “I finally realized we can’t hold back from God’s work, waiting for all the right conditions. I’m honored that God used me as an instrument to help others.”