American Baptist Homes & Caring Ministries
Creating Communities, Transforming Lives
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I’m proud to be an ABHCM board member, and I love to tell people the story of how all of this wondrous activity began.
In 1895, two retired Baptist missionaries responded to the plight of abandoned and homeless children by establishing the Chicago Baptist Orphanage. Rev. and Mrs. Scofield were following in the footsteps of many American Baptists in the 19th century who, at personal risk, boldly advocated for the abolishion of slavery, schools for freed slaves, homes for elders, hospitals for the indigent, and settlement houses for new immigrants. In the 20th century, American Baptist predecessors continued this legacy of social concern, participating in the woman’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and refugee resettlement. They combined critique with construction: in state houses and the nation’s capital, they advocated for just and compassionate government, and in places like Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Seattle they built affordable housing.
While the Scofields were starting up in Chicago back in 1895, Baptist pastor and theologian Walter Rauschenbusch was working with the poorest of New Yorkers in Hell’s Kitchen. This was a time of tenement housing, child labor, and great poverty for many displaced by the “progress” of industrialism. The experience convinced Rauschenbusch that in order for the Gospel to be Good News, it could not solely be about an afterlife but had to say something about human society in the present. “The life of Jesus was a life of love and service,” wrote Rauschenbusch. “At every moment his life was going out toward God and men … the purpose for which he lived was the Kingdom of God.”
In 1895, two retired Baptist missionaries responded to the plight of abandoned and homeless children by establishing the Chicago Baptist Orphanage. Rev. and Mrs. Scofield were following in the footsteps of many American Baptists in the 19th century who, at personal risk, boldly advocated for the abolishion of slavery, schools for freed slaves, homes for elders, hospitals for the indigent, and settlement houses for new immigrants. In the 20th century, American Baptist predecessors continued this legacy of social concern, participating in the woman’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and refugee resettlement. They combined critique with construction: in state houses and the nation’s capital, they advocated for just and compassionate government, and in places like Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Seattle they built affordable housing.
While the Scofields were starting up in Chicago back in 1895, Baptist pastor and theologian Walter Rauschenbusch was working with the poorest of New Yorkers in Hell’s Kitchen. This was a time of tenement housing, child labor, and great poverty for many displaced by the “progress” of industrialism. The experience convinced Rauschenbusch that in order for the Gospel to be Good News, it could not solely be about an afterlife but had to say something about human society in the present. “The life of Jesus was a life of love and service,” wrote Rauschenbusch. “At every moment his life was going out toward God and men … the purpose for which he lived was the Kingdom of God.”
Rauschenbusch argued that a “religious experience is not Christian unless it binds us closer to men and commits us more deeply to the Kingdom of God.” American Baptist preacher Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in the 1960s, noted his indebtedness to Rauschenbush, saying “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but also his body, not only his spiritual well-being but also his material well-being.”
Between Rauschenbusch’s death in 1918 and King’s death in 1968, caring ministries of the American Baptists organized in the form of American Baptist Homes and Hospitals Association and experienced extraordinary growth. Orphanages transformed into children’s and family services addressing issues of juvenile justice and foster care; new retirement communities opened offering a continuum of care; and innovative programs were created for special needs adults.
American Baptist congregations birthed each of these ministries as they responded to their communities’ needs. Churches wanted to provide housing and health care for retired ministers and missionaries. Others saw opportunities to transform blighted neighborhoods through the construction of affordable housing. Association leaders sought to do these things together, to accomplish more than they could alone.
Today, ABHAA has been re-named “American Baptist Homes and Caring Ministries” to denote that our services extend into communities and relationships, not just residences and facilities. ABHCM ministries are growing to meet the needs of the 21st century.
Between Rauschenbusch’s death in 1918 and King’s death in 1968, caring ministries of the American Baptists organized in the form of American Baptist Homes and Hospitals Association and experienced extraordinary growth. Orphanages transformed into children’s and family services addressing issues of juvenile justice and foster care; new retirement communities opened offering a continuum of care; and innovative programs were created for special needs adults.
American Baptist congregations birthed each of these ministries as they responded to their communities’ needs. Churches wanted to provide housing and health care for retired ministers and missionaries. Others saw opportunities to transform blighted neighborhoods through the construction of affordable housing. Association leaders sought to do these things together, to accomplish more than they could alone.
Today, ABHAA has been re-named “American Baptist Homes and Caring Ministries” to denote that our services extend into communities and relationships, not just residences and facilities. ABHCM ministries are growing to meet the needs of the 21st century.
Rauschenbusch said of Jesus that He was “set on a big thing.” That is, Jesus ushered in what scripture calls the reign of God and what King called “the Beloved Community.” This is the kind of community ABHCM members seek. We recognize that the creation of such a community calls for a different kind of leadership. We on the board of ABHCM strive to be those kinds of leaders.
I love to tell this story. What a glorious heritage is ours in ABHCM! Through two centuries, our inspired efforts have embodied the church’s mission and boldly proclaimed God’s Good News in a broken world.
I love to tell this story. What a glorious heritage is ours in ABHCM! Through two centuries, our inspired efforts have embodied the church’s mission and boldly proclaimed God’s Good News in a broken world.
Dr. Richard E. Ice, ABHCM board member, relays this story. Dr. Ice is President Emeritus of American Baptist Homes of the West, which consists of 33 retirement communities and nine health facilities providing care for over 4,700 residents and employment for more than 1,650 people. See more of our board member profiles at About Us.