Rev. Dr. Edward Viljoen discovered Science of Mind while reading a book on a flight from his native South Africa to the United States. Upon arriving, he searched for the nearest Religious Science Church and immediately enrolled in the available classes.

During his training as a Practitioner and then minister, he served in the World Ministry of Prayer and trained volunteers to staff the prayer lines. He was the author of the Ernest Holmes Study Guide in the Science of Mind magazine for many years. He was ordained in May 1996 and graduated as a Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chaplain in April 1999. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary Doctoral Degree in Divinity from Holmes Institute. He served as chairperson of the team responsible for guiding the Religious Science movement through its organizational restructuring. He has been senior minister of the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa since 1995.