Health care sharing became ‘wow’ for Keith Bradshaw

Health care sharing went from “viable” to “wow” for Keith Bradshaw.

Keith had heard a lot about Samaritan Ministries and health care sharing from fellow members of his church in Centerville, Tennessee.

“They were talking about this as a way to practice your Biblical faith even in health care,” says Keith, now a Samaritan Board member.

Still, “I don’t know that I gave it that much serious thought.”

Frustrations with health insurance mounted, though, and “as I looked into the Word and had conversations with other Samaritan members, it went from a viable alternative to ‘Wow, this is an application of what the Church ought to be doing.’ That was when I became an enthusiastic Samaritan member.”

He became a Board member in early 2013 when he was appointed by Samaritan founder and President Ted Pittenger. Under Samaritan’s bylaws, the ministry president is able to appoint two board members, and there are six members elected to the Board by a vote of the members.

“Because we were looking at future needs and scaling our staff to meet ministry needs, we thought it’d be good to have somebody with more of a business background,” Ted says.

Keith’s early experience in dealing with the Board of Directors has been encouraging.

“These are men from different walks and different ages,” he says. “Some have been early, early adopters in Samaritan and some are more recent. It’s a great encouragement to be in a position to help guide and counsel a ministry that is so strongly believed in and to do so alongside brothers. Their commitment is unwavering. I love the experience.”

He says he’s also impressed by the commitment to the ministry’s founding principles in the face of a changing health care environment.

“Sometimes it’s easy, when you’re in the midst of a battle, to fight the battle on the enemy’s terms,” he says. “But we seek the blessings of God and do not try to fight the battle on the enemy’s terms.”