Sahmyook University and the Health and Relief Department of the Korean Association of Seventh-day Adventists will jointly train missionaries who will spread the New Start health message. Sahmyook University Lifelong Education Center oversees the consignment operation.

On February 13th, the Korea Federation of Health and Relief Department and Sahmyook University’s Continuing Education Center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to operate the ‘Vegetarian Cooking Instructor Training Course by Disease’ and the ‘New Start Missionary Training Course’.

This curriculum is promoted as a core policy of the IWG missionary strategy of the Korean Federation. First, the ‘vegetarian cooking instructor training course by disease’ aims to train instructors who can learn the theory and practice of preparing food plans by disease for the treatment and management of diseases based on the New Start health principle and train them directly on the field.

About 60 people from all over the country are recruited, including pastors, pastors’ wives, heads of missions, elders, deacons, lay missionaries, and community service members. For 14 weeks, from April 9th to July 9th, education will be held at Sahmyook University’s cooking room every Sunday for 3 hours. The tuition fee (170,000 won per person) will be fully supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the five conferences. The ‘Vegetarian Cuisine Educator Level 1’ certificate, a private qualification registered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, will be given.

After completing the education, they will visit the elderly, the disabled, and patients in the community who need help and provide vegetarian cooking services for each illness. It will be active in churches, welfare centers, senior citizens’ centers, and lifelong education institutions. Based on the spirit of a medical missionary, the plan is to visit patients’ and investigators’ homes from door to door to practice cooking and prepare a place for evangelism at the same time.

The “New Start Missionary Training Course” is a process of training proper New Start missionaries by establishing the concept and identity of New Start based on modern medical science, amid concerns that are being raised that the New Start health message has lost its essence and is leaning towards therapy centered. The textbook will be titled NEWSTART Delivered by Professionals, which was co-authored by 17 specialists belonging to the SDA Medical Association and published last year.

This course is noteworthy in that the authors appear as professional lecturers. For scientific understanding and correct application of the health message △ the health message history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church △nutrition △exercise △water △sunlight △temperance △air △rest and △trust in God will be medically explained.

Medical terminology that is unfamiliar to the general public is made as easy as possible to understand, and recommendations are provided so that they can be practiced and applied without side effects in one’s daily life. The curriculum is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year. Information such as detailed schedules will be coordinated and announced by the Korea Federation of Health and Relief Department and Sahmyook University Lifelong Education Center soon.

President Kim, Il-mok said, “It is significant that the Adventist Church systematized the health message based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy and institutionalized it in the form of a curriculum. Through this curriculum, we hope that many medical missionaries will be produced to spread the message more confidently in the last days. In the future, Sahmyook University will continue to cooperate with the church and do its best to spread the skills and ministries the members need.”

Director Park, Sang-hee said, “If you look at the health-related projects carried out within the association so far, they are short-term, lack consistency, and have unprofessional elements. Through collaboration with Sahmyook University, which has various infrastructures, it will be possible to provide in-depth and systematic training related to New Start to the members of Advent Farm in Korea. We plan to nurture workers with a health message that balances scientific grounds and natural healing on the frontlines of missionary work.”