***News Release***
Samaritan Ministries’ Newsletter Provides 260,000+ Members with Important Health Care News, Health Tips, Member Profiles, Ministry Updates and More
PEORIA, Ill.—As part of its nearly 25-year mission to connect Christians through an affordable, effective and God-honoring direct-sharing approach to health care, Samaritan Ministries International (samaritanministries.org) also makes connections with its members through its monthly newsletter, which provides the more than 260,000 individual members with sometimes hard-to-find health care information, engaging member features, updates on the ministry and much more.
Each month, Samaritan’s growing Biblical community of nearly 80,000 member families shares approximately $27 million in medical needs person to person. Yet the monthly share has never exceeded $495 for a family of any size and is even less for two-person and single-person households. This direct-sharing approach also allows members to not only help fellow believers with their medical financial needs, but also connect monthly with prayer, personal notes and cards of encouragement.
The newsletter is another monthly occurrence that Anthony Hopp, Samaritan Ministries vice president of external relations, says further connects and engages members.
“We hear month after month that the Samaritan Ministries newsletter is a valuable tool for discovering health care information our members perhaps didn’t know,” Hopp said. “With both national and ministry-generated content, the newsletter includes health information that can be hard to find, Biblical worldview articles that can affect health care choices, updates on research and developments in the medical field and health care, member letters that glorify God and encourage other Samaritan members, and even pertinent book and movie reviews. Even though our members are spread across the world, we can connect them in a personal way through the direct sharing of medical needs and through the newsletter that is full of useful information.”
Most issues feature an in-depth article from the health care field. For example, the September 2018 newsletter highlights the story of a doctor in North Carolina who has sued the state government for prohibiting him from providing low-cost MRIs to patients.
Testimonials from actual Samaritan members also reinforce the main feature story, such as one from Dave from Wisconsin, who saved hundreds of dollars by seeking out an MRI facility like this North Carolina doctor’s.
“We inquired about the cost of an MRI at the facility we were referred to,” Dave wrote. “Even with a cash-pay discount of 45 percent the cost still came in at over $3,000 dollars! So we did a little research, and were delighted to find a local independent MRI facility that could perform a scan meeting all the requirements for only $600! So it looks like our need will be significantly less than anticipated! I want you to know that I am strongly committed to the concept of Christian-based sharing of health care needs. As the worldly health insurance model continues to implode, I see this as an opportunity to demonstrate the love of Jesus to a skeptical world, as Christians support each other lovingly, but also responsibly.”
The September issue also highlights the following features:
- An example of a letter one family wrote encouraging their church’s staff members to join Samaritan. “The financial peace of mind is wonderful,” they wrote. “However, there is a peace to this ministry that’s even greater. Samaritan Ministries is a solid Biblical organization. It’s not only founded on Biblical principles in how it serves believers in need, but the principles are being lived out among the member families. The members have blessed us immensely with cards and notes of encouragement and affirmation of their prayers for us while in the healing process. Rest assured, we never received one note of encouragement from our insurance company saying that they were praying for us in the 15 years we were policyholders.”
- The Member Spotlight featuring Dr. David Jockers of the Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Georgia, highlighting the benefits he has experienced with the ketogenic diet, as well as why his family joined Samaritan.
- An article from the Foundation for Economic Education titled, “Why luxury TVs are affordable when basic health care is not.”
Health tips are also a regular feature of the Samaritan newsletter, with the goal of providing members more knowledge and personal power when it comes to their health care. Bonnie in Montana especially appreciates this information.
“I really enjoy the way you encourage natural health and to take control of your health and not leave it in the hands of others,” she said.
Jacob from Missouri said the Samaritan newsletter is beneficial in other ways as well.
“Samaritan newsletters are a great encouragement, especially the prayer needs and testimonies and helpful health articles,” he said. “A word of thanks to those who give their time and resources to make what they’ve learned available to others.”
Terry and Lesly of Montana said they “feel informed by your monthly newsletters,” while Kathleen of Minnesota said it’s “a great resource with interesting articles.”
Besides print, content is also available on Samaritan’s blog at www.samaritanministries.org/blog.
Samaritan Ministries offers two membership levels, Samaritan Classic and Samaritan Basic. Samaritan Basic has a lower monthly share coupled with a higher initial unshared amount than Samaritan Classic. This gives both present and future members two options for choosing what they believe is best for their families—and their budgets. Monthly shares for Samaritan Basic start as low as $100 for one person, $200 for two people and $250 for a family of any size, depending on age. Some guidelines differ between Samaritan Basic and Samaritan Classic; contact Samaritan Ministries for details or visit this link.
Learn more about Samaritan Ministries International here; visit the Samaritan website at www.samaritanministries.org, or follow the ministry on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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