{"id":25292,"date":"2026-01-25T10:26:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=25292"},"modified":"2026-01-25T10:26:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:26:23","slug":"rigas-new-community-centre-moves-closer-to-completion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/rigas-new-community-centre-moves-closer-to-completion\/","title":{"rendered":"Riga’s New Community Centre Moves Closer to Completion"},"content":{"rendered":"

13 January 2026 | Riga, Latvia [Lyubova Tihomirova with tedNEWS<\/em>]<\/p>\n

A new chapter of ministry is unfolding in Riga, Latvia, where a dedicated space for community outreach is under development. A three-storey building, purchased in October 2023, is being transformed into a community centre. The project is the result of collaboration between local church members and international partners, united in their commitment to serving the needs of people in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a major breakthrough in the history of our Conference,\u201d said Lubova Tihomirova, director of the project. \u201cIt has been a long journey, but we truly believe the Lord has led us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Teenagers work on creative projects during an arts and crafts session at one of the summer camps, which began nearly three decades ago and helped lay the foundations for the new Community Centre in Riga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new Riga Community Centre builds on nearly three decades of ministry, beginning with a summer camp initiative that started 28 years ago as a grassroots project to engage young people in outdoor and spiritual activities. \u201cThe community centre is a continuation of the spiritual work that began with the summer camps,\u201d Tihomirova explained. \u201cWe aim to create a space where people of all ages can experience growth\u2014physically, spiritually and emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of key donations have made this possible, including a contribution from the 13th Sabbath Offering, administered by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (US$350,000), the Baltic Union Conference (\u20ac100,000), and the Sixth Riga Seventh-day Adventist Church (\u20ac70,000).<\/p>\n

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Children enjoy outdoor games and activities during the opening ceremony of the Riga Community Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Renovation work began in the summer of 2025. While structurally sound, the building had not been repaired since its construction, requiring substantial investment to bring it up to modern standards. In a major boost to the project, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) facilitated a partnership with TX Foundation, a sponsor based in Taiwan. This collaboration enabled renovation work to begin on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

The partnership was marked by a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2025, during which representatives from TX Foundation were hosted for a special celebration. The day included a family fun event with inflatables and activities for children, guided tours of the facility, and time for fellowship between guests and local members. \u201cHosting the representatives from TX Foundation was a moment of celebration and hope,\u201d said Tihomirova.<\/p>\n

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Representatives from TX Foundation attend the groundbreaking ceremony. The Taiwan-based organisation partnered with ADRA to provide funding that enabled the first phase of renovation work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project received further support in autumn 2025 through the Global Mission Impact Fund (US$90,000), coordinated by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This funding will support the centre\u2019s continued development and the planning of future programmes.<\/p>\n

Currently, the centre\u2019s team is working on legal registration, designing interest-based clubs, preparing ministry programmes, and continuing renovations across all three floors. The anticipated opening ceremony is scheduled for October 2026, once construction work is complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision is to create a welcoming place where children, youth and adults alike can come, learn, grow, and experience God\u2019s love in a practical way,\u201d said Tihomirova. \u201cGod has led us this far, and we trust He will finish what He started.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[Photos: Gustavs Melngalvis]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The centre is about meeting people where they are, offering hope, help and faith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":25326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1583,7,1577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estonia-latvia-lithuania","category-news","category-organisational-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25292"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25331,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25292\/revisions\/25331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}