Adventist Leaders Run During 5K Ministerial Retreat Race in the Dominican Republic

The race was meant to promote exercise among the men and women who minister in churches across the Caribbean.

September 14, 2024 | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

Dozens of Adventist men and women, each one a pastor or a pastor’s spouse, woke up at dawn to be part of a 5K run, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, during the Inter-American Division’s (IAD) ministerial retreat last week.

The run was meant to promote exercise in a profession that has many pastoral couples in a rat race every day as they minister up to 20 churches in their district, organizers said.

“This is not a race just to run, but a race for ministerial health,” said Isaías Espinoza, publishing ministries director of the IAD in charge of the activity, as he addressed the more than 100 persons before the race started.

“We have a great deficit in the ministerial body of pastors who do not exercise and that is of great concern because we know that the body unites with the spirit,” said Espinoza.  “Remember what we think is reflected in our actions so the wish of the church in Inter-America is for more pastors to have a healthy lifestyle not only for the body but in the three dimensions that the church highlights: body, mind and spirit.”

To reward the three top winners for the men and the women separately, there would be cash prizes, announced Espinoza, Prayers were offered moments before the race started.

Dary Dinart, 34, from Guadeloupe, finished the race in under 20 minutes, taking the first-place spot. He pastors four churches back home, is co-parenting his two young boys and has been participating in triathlons since 2018. Running for Dinart began when he was studying at the University of Southern Caribbean in Trinidad in 2008. He started competing in 2014, and has been keeping it up ever since. Every Sunday he makes time to run, swim, and cycle. “We have the health message, and we must practice what we teach,” he said.

José Miguel Fernández, 31, came in second place, just behind Dinart. Fernández oversees 12 congregations in his district in the Southeast Dominican Conference and has been running with his wife Yasira for over a year. He’s been encouraging his more than 400 member congregation to exercise. “I’ve been preaching about the health message and trying to motivate them to join in walking and running,” said Fernández.

His conference is one of three, along with the staff of the Dominican Union, that have been engaged in exercising and promoting healthy habits since last year. The balancing act of pastoring in his district means making time to exercise. “The only way to take part in running and keeping fit is scheduling as part of my daily and weekly agenda,” Fernádez said.

Rebeca González finished in first place on the women’s 5K run. Her husband, Cesar Hernández, is a pastor in Rio Piedras in the East Puerto Rico Conference. She’s been running for four years and has run in half marathons, as well as her husband. “I just love running, it’s for health and our church is all about being healthy,” said González.  She has a group of friends who participate in 5K runs and is planning to go to Chicago to take part in a marathon.

For Orpha de la Cruz, finishing second meant a lot to her. She has been running with her husband for over a year. Together they have been encouraging church leaders and members to exercise and lead a healthier lifestyle. De la Cruz is the women’s ministries director of the Dominican Union and said it’s been about setting an example wherever she goes. Her husband is Teófilo Silverstre, president of the Dominican Union, who also ran in the 5K.

“We have taken the eight natural habits and decided to move two habits per year and this year it’s been coined as ‘move and breathe’,” said Silvestre. The focus has been to highlight how important exercise is to spiritual life, which is what the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle is all about, he added. “Just start exercising and the rest of the healthy habits will fall into place, because you put into practice breathing properly, drinking water, taking in the sunshine, and sleeping well.”

The initiative has reached three of the local fields on the island where 5K runs have been organized. Many churches have started to their waking, running, cyclist clubs, and more. At Central Quisqueya Adventist Church in Santo Domingo, a recent 5K run engaged more than 500 members.

In the South and Southeast Dominican Conference, a 5K run involved its pastors running together initially and later began promoting the exercise initiative in their churches. Each of the races have seen many friends and members of the community take part in the exercise initiatives. These are coupled with several stations including a prayer station, health talks, and information on the service institutions the church offers, he explained.

In the coming months three more local fields are planning to get involved in the “Move and Breathe” initiative.

“The plan is for a national race where we can invite thousands of people to take part in a massive event in February 2026,” said Silvestre. “It would be the first national race organized by the Adventist Church and we want it to become a huge community impact in our country,” Pastor Silvestre said.

Third place winners Kenia Lara of the Dominican Union and Jason Charles of the South Caribbean Conference in Trinidad were also awarded a cash prize.

“I hope this race can awaken more interest among the ministerial families across the IAD,” said Espinoza. The ministerial retreat held in Cancun, Mexico, during the previous week saw more than 400 men and women finishing the 5K run.