One of the main principles of Christianity that we hear the minister preach about all the time in church is the idea of helping your fellow brothers and sisters in their time of need. We know that, even as Christians, we’re going to experience hard times but those hard times can be made so much more manageable with the assistance of our fellow Christians. It’s this special relationship that we share with those in our church and our religion that make the power of Christianity so great.
For so many of us, some of the most challenging times in our lives have to do with health issues, either of our own or those close to us. Often, it is not only the physical condition itself that poses so much concern for us, but also the financial strain that accompanies it. When we, or someone close to us, are facing health concerns, we have enough to worry about without the added burden of expensive medical bills. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had someone on your side who not only cared about what you were going through but also was able to help you financially?
That is where healthcare sharing ministries fill a unique role in the healthcare payment system. These organizations are based on the Biblical principle of “bearing one another’s burdens” and have been easing the burden of medical expenses for decades. In fact, membership in these organizations have grown most rapidly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, with over one million Americans currently being a healthcare sharing member. That’s over one million Americans who have a group of fellow Christians who are there for each other not only emotionally but also financially when someone in the group has an unexpected medical incident.
One of the largest and most well-known healthcare sharing ministries, with over 200,000 of those million-plus members, is Liberty HealthShareSM. Throughout their rapid growth over the past decade, Liberty HealthShare has continued to keep their organization rooted in the Christian principles upon which it was founded. These Christian principles are evident not only in the organization’s shared belief statement and sharing guidelines but also in how financially accessible they make membership in the organization.
First, it’s important to know that participation in healthcare sharing ministries is precipitated by agreeing to a shared belief statement based on Christian principles. The Liberty HealthShare statement of shared beliefs states that members “believe every individual has a fundamental religious right to worship the God of the Bible in his or her own way.” This is not the case with many health-care sharing ministries, some of which accept only specific denominations of Christianity and even require members to have a pastor or minister sign off on weekly church attendance. It’s an approach that embodies Liberty’s mission to make the Christian tradition of healthcare sharing available and affordable to all.
Source: Christian Headlines
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