Three decades of 'one-anothering': Samaritan turns 30

In March 1998, my 1-year-old son, Ethan, suddenly became very sick.

What started as a typical ear infection rapidly morphed into a raging rash that was accompanied by a high fever, extreme lethargy, and severe swelling, which made our little guy unrecognizable, not to mention miserable.

The emergency room doctors had no clue what it was, so they admitted Ethan to the local children’s hospital, where he was quarantined. My wife, Jen, and I were obviously quite anxious and just wanted our sweet boy to be OK.

I remember the nurses trying to draw blood, but Ethan’s body was so bloated and swollen that they had trouble finding a place to insert the needle.

Finally, the nurses looked at us, almost apologetically, as if to say, “I’m so sorry to do this,” and proceeded to stick the needle into our little guy’s head to draw the blood.

Then, after a few excruciating, nerve-racking days, Ethan started getting better; as mysteriously as the illness came on, it abated. And by God’s great mercy and grace, our little boy, who is now 6-foot-6 and makes short jokes at my expense, was healed.

But quickly after this crisis, we realized we had a new crisis: The bills started coming in.

‘I was a bit nervous’

Seven months before Ethan’s illness, in August 1997, I had started working for and had become a member of Samaritan Ministries, a so-called “health care sharing ministry” where members shared one another’s medical needs without using insurance. Talk about a different paradigm! Of course, I never expected to need help, but here we were.

After Ethan’s illness and hospitalization, Jen and I found ourselves with thousands of dollars in medical bills and no health insurance. We were just members of this small ministry, where, at the time, around 1,000 other Christians were supposedly ready to help us.

Truth be told, I was a bit nervous about how this process would go down. That’s embarrassing to admit considering the fact that for the past seven months, I had BEEN ON STAFF at Samaritan Ministries, seen the process work, and watched other families have their medical burdens lifted. But now that our family owed thousands of dollars, we were supposed to trust that other people—strangers!—were actually going to send us money … voluntarily??

Well, that was a whole different ballgame.

We took a deep breath, submitted our bills to be shared among the members, and trusted that God would provide.

You probably can guess how it turned out. Over 25 years later, we’re still waiting for our money.

I’m kidding! Just making sure you’re with me.

Of course God provided! Our brothers and sisters in Christ came through. We received every penny we needed and paid the providers in full promptly.

But that wasn’t the best part and, hopefully, you knew I would say that. Almost every time we received money from a Samaritan member, there was a card or note. People had actually taken the time to write us thoughtful, kind words. To encourage us that they were praying for and standing with us. To remind us that God is always faithful and good. To share with us their own story. To assure us that we were not alone.

$3 billion shared

When Ted Pittenger started Samaritan Ministries, he had a vision for Jesus followers one-anothering in a practical way that would have the potential to help redeem health care. From the beginning, Ted saw God’s Church as being able to address health care burdens better than the government or an insurance company ever could. The tricky part in those early days was figuring out how to harness the collective strength and power of God’s Church.

Thirty years later, we’re all part of the “harnessed” strength that has collectively shared nearly $3 billion in medical burdens through 10 million member-to-member interactions. Bound by our unity in Christ, we’re together addressing the kinds of needs close to Jesus' heart.

While on earth, Jesus often healed the sick. In essence, He ministered to people in need by offering them both practical and physical healing combined with spiritual awakening and compassion.

What Samaritan members are striving to do is much the same.

As members of Jesus’ Church who follow His example, we want to supply physical relief through financial support to one another while at the same time offering spiritual encouragement and emotional comfort during times of crisis, suffering, and difficulty. As a Samaritan member, you have immersed yourselves in this supportive community of believers who minister to one another practically and profoundly. As a Samaritan member, you are helping to redeem health care.

You’re one-anothering

When my wife and I started receiving notes and checks for our son Ethan’s medical need, we realized this Samaritan thing wasn’t about moving money from person to person. It wasn’t just a financial transaction. Samaritan members were doing something remarkable. They were “one-anothering.” The Greek word for “one-another” is allelon (al-lay-lone), and it appears in the New Testament about 100 times, with nearly half of those being commands to believers:

• Love one another.
• Comfort one another.
• Pray for one another.
• Share with another.
• Encourage one another.
• Serve one another.
• Bear one another’s burdens.

This is what you’re doing every month—you’re one anothering.

In Romans 12, starting in verse 9, Paul lists a bunch of exhortations, many of which involve “one-anothering.” Some translations have the title “love in action” for this portion of Scripture. A few years ago, as I was reading through these verses, it occurred to me that several of these “love in action” exhortations are precisely what we Samaritan members do:

Verse 10: "Be devoted to one another in love."

Verse 12: Be "faithful in prayer."

Verse 13: "Share with the Lord’s people who are in need."

Verse 15: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (all verses NIV).

You all do that every month—you’re showing “love in action.”

Redeeming health care

The current health care landscape is often frustrating, complex, impersonal, and Christ-less. But you are brilliant bright spots in that dark terrain. God’s kids coming together to share over $30 million a month is great, but what’s more extraordinary is that, as Samaritan members and with Jesus at the center, we’re all helping to redeem health care by obeying Jesus’ command in John 13:34-35 to love one another. Jesus said that as He has loved us, we must love one another. And He says that when we do love one another, it demonstrates to a hurting world in need of Jesus (including a broken health care system) that we belong to Him and are His disciples.

Now that’s redemptive!

Thank you for being part of the Samaritan family. Thank you for one-anothering. And thank you for putting your love into action and letting your light shine.