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The Bethesda Life Center’s name was inspired by two passages from the Gospel of John. “Bethesda” (meaning “pool of mercy”) came from the story of the miracle Jesus performed at the pool of Bethesda as recorded in the fifth chapter. Jesus, noticing the sick people at the pool waiting for the opportunity to be healed, inquired of a man who had been infirmed for 38 years whether he wanted to be made “whole” (v.6, KJV). Despite the man’s rambling response, Jesus surmised that he desired to be made well (or whole). By hearing and heeding the words of Jesus, the man was healed.

In John 10:10, Jesus explains to his listeners that there are thieves and those who will steal from them, destroy them and kill them. In juxtaposition, Jesus lets his listeners know that he has come into their lives so that they might experience “abundant life”.

The Bethesda Life Center was established to make wholeness (wellness) in spirit, mind and body accessible to the residents of its service area. Its mission “for a healthy advantage” reflects that its intended outcome is a reduction in health disparities experienced by the community it serves.

The Bethesda Life Center has adopted the World Health Organization’s definition of health: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

– Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.

The World Health Organization’s definition has not been amended since 1948.