FROM BASSETT, NEBRASKA, TO THE WORLD

In 1957, a small-town Nebraska pastor named Charles Turner, who had been a P-38 fighter pilot in World War II and then a crop duster, was asked to fly a missionary and two other ministers to Nicaragua in his little tail-dragger Cessna 180. (Cruising speed: 150 mph!) The four men spent a week in that Central American country encountering poverty up-close. They saw children at great risk in the streets. They saw local churches trying to help, despite meager resources.

Turner came home sobered. He thought to himself, “There’s no way my church and other churches here in America can raise the sums it will take to address these needs. We need a bigger pipeline. The traditional funding model just isn’t going to do the job.”

The pastor did not just forget about it after a few days. He took action. He stood up before his small congregation of mainly ranchers and asked how many would be willing to volunteer their labor during the slow season to help build a nursing home. A number of men raised their hands. The goal, he explained, was twofold: to provide quality Christian care for the elderly, and to generate proceeds that could help hurting people in faraway places.

The first Bethesda Care Center—just 30 beds—opened its doors in 1959 in Bassett, Nebraska (pop. 800). In this pre-Medicare era, it was the state’s very first building designed expressly to serve seniors (as opposed simply to converting large old homes for this use).

The early years were not easy. At the end of the month, there wasn’t much money to give away as Charles Turner had dreamed. A second nursing home was added in nearby Ainsworth, Nebraska (pop. 2,000) in hopes that economy of scale would improve the bottom line.

By 1976, the Bethesda corporation was up to approximately 25 nursing homes and two acute-care hospitals in several states. When Turner left the organization that year, the board asked David Burdine, their former controller, to return to Nebraska and accept the job. In the back of his mind, Burdine held a wildly optimistic dream: that someday Bethesda would be able to give away a million dollars in a single year. How preposterous!

Through a great deal of hard work and wise investing, financial performance began to improve. More facilities were added to the chain. Bethesda began channeling funds back to Nicaragua and to other countries as well. Throughout the 1980s, the “Business for Benevolence” concept (though not called that at the time) began to prove its viability.

In 1987, the long-cherished dream of giving a million dollars to God’s work became a reality. It also brought the charting of new structures: a holding company that would manage several profit-generating businesses at once. This arrangement continues to the present.

By 1988, Bethesda was up to 34 nursing homes in seven states. A qualified buyer in the long-term healthcare field came along and offered $55 million for the whole chain. The board pondered what to do. After prayer, they decided to take the offer and use the proceeds to pay off all debt and to reorganize Bethesda for a whole new era.

The next year (1989) saw the unexpected death of a missionary pioneer in Calcutta, India, whom the Bethesda leaders had always respected: Dr. Mark Buntain. His work, called Mission of Mercy, fed several thousand destitute people each day, and included a hospital, a Bible college, and other ministries that could hardly be shut down. His widow, Huldah, would continue to lead the efforts on the ground in Calcutta—but what support structure should be built, now that the passionate and charismatic Dr. Buntain was no longer available to raise funds?

Bethesda came up with a bold notion: What if they took Mission of Mercy under their wing as part of their overall motto which read “Sharing God’s Love with the World”? In 1990, the organization became a Bethesda company.

Meanwhile, new ventures took shape throughout the 1990s: real estate development, assisted-living centers, Christian radio stations, and investments.  A new generation of leaders has come aboard in recent years to continue the B4B concept. Most gifts these days go to Mission of Mercy, which has expanded from its India roots into 21 nations. Connections and partnerships are growing, meanwhile, with other business leaders who are implementing B4B in their own unique styles.

Bethesda’s story is, in some ways, as unique as its concept; there aren’t many other businesses that operate this way. The results, however, are sizable in both temporal and eternal terms. The legacy of filling human needs through business earnings goes on.  Says CEO and Chairman of the Board Dana Rasic, “I am often asked by other business leaders and by leaders of non-profit organizations how they can have a greater impact for the benefit of God’s Kingdom.  I believe whole heartedly that Business for Benevolence is an excellent model that can be adapted for their organization.  We at Bethesda are trying to demonstrate it, and to help others develop their own applications.”