On the street outside an Adventist church in Riga, Latvia, pedestrians often stop by a book house along the sidewalk. This small “house” contains a variety of free literature. Armands, who once pastored this church and is now retired, makes sure that inventory stays stocked for local residents to enjoy.

About a third of Latvia’s population lives here in the capital city. The historical center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, noted for its architecture.

In Riga, Adventists aren’t afraid to try creative approaches to ministry, such as their book house. Valdis [val-deese] is a church member who uses his health food store as a place of connection with his community.

“Our goal for Dabas Stacija [dah-bahs stot-zee-ah], that's the name of our business, it's like ‘nature station,’ in English, is to be a bridge between the street and the church. It's very hard now in this secular country to go on the street and invite people to some events like church or concerts. But if you have connections with customers and they trust you a little, then they will listen more and they see that just because you are from the church you want to bring them into the church. They see that you wish them well and good health.”

Each year this store participates in a large vegan festival held in Riga.

“I have seen how God uses the shop to bring people closer to church.”

In the last festival for example, I explained to them that our shop together with the Adventist church would be doing an event. The Adventist church will provide the place and our shop will organize the seminar. ‘Would you be interested?’ ‘Yes, I would be interested.’ And we got many contacts.

Once people make contact with the church, they are invited to join a small group. This is an important aspect of growth within this community.

“Small groups can do what big church gatherings can’t do. I believe that we need big worship gatherings and small gatherings in homes where people can get to a deeper level with closer relationships.”

Zane’s [zah-neh] marriage was falling apart. She and her husband decided it was best to separate. Feeling overwhelmed, Zane looked online for a church in Riga and found the Adventist church. The members encouraged her to join a small group.

The first time she attended, she sat at a table between total strangers, but felt so accepted and loved that after some time she shared her problems with them, and they lovingly offered to pray for her.

Over time, she started to understand her husband better and recognized good qualities in him. This group helped her on her journey to forgiveness.

After much prayer and Bible study, Zane was baptized. Now, her family is back together and they are grateful to the small group that prayed for them.

Thanks to the Adventist church’s presence in various forms, others have found community and healing through these small groups.

This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering will create a new urban center of influence to work together with the health food store in Riga.

“I envision, for example, we could have some place where we can combine a small shop, a small cafe, a small place with books and a sofa with a good atmosphere. Also some advertisements of our seminars and health events, it would be much easier to get people to these events.”

Please pray for this urban center of influence project in Latvia. Thank you for supporting this special offering!