Giving Back

What would you do if someone suddenly handed you $50,000?

Winter 2009 | by Jim Spickelmeir

We can imagine spending that $50,000 very quickly with dreams of vacations, cars, or an addition to the house. But in a little while, wouldn’t we be asking ourselves what bigger purpose there might be for such a gift? Might we also desire to do something for others and for Christ if we came into some unexpected money?

Jim and Doris Rehnberg of San Diego, Calif., have given to others throughout their lives. When Jim returned from World War II, during which he had served as a counterintelligence officer in England and mainland Europe, he studied at Bethel College. Doris had graduated from Mounds Midway School of Nursing in 1946 and taken a job as the school nurse at Bethel. Before long, the handsome GI and the attractive nurse became an item; they married in 1949. Thus began a lifetime of team ministry serving churches in Wisconsin, Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, and California.

Along the way they founded The Family Connection, a ministry affirming the importance and significance of purity, unselfish love, and commitment to Christian marriage. The Rehnbergs cultivated a lifestyle of giving their time, talents, and treasure, and especially enjoyed opportunities to minister to families of missionaries serving overseas.

But just like the rest of us, Jim and Doris occasionally played the game of “What would we do if …?” And then suddenly it wasn’t just a game. Blessed with some unexpected resources, the Rehnbergs had a few real-life decisions to make.

Around that time, they read an article in Focus, the alumni magazine of Bethel University, about their friends Chuck and Marilyn Gustafson of Maple Grove, Minn. The article spotlighted an endowed nursing scholarship the Gustafsons had established at Bethel. “That article got us thinking,” Jim says. Inspired by the Gustafsons’ example, Jim and Doris decided to use some of their windfall to endow a scholarship at Bethel Seminary San Diego for students desiring to minister to couples and families, just as the Rehnbergs had done most of their lives. But that’s not all. They also donated money to assist village medical clinics in Africa, supporting the work of a missionary friend. “It’s been such a joy,” they agreed.

In May, Doris went home to be with the Lord, reveling in the fulfillment she and Jim had shared while helping others in the name of Jesus Christ. “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” says Hebrew 10:24. The story of their friends’ good stewardship spurred Jim and Doris Rehnberg to add to their storehouse of love and good deeds. Perhaps their story will do the same for someone else…    H&M

“How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?”
—Psalm 116:12

Bethel University offers assistance to alumni and friends who wish to invest in kingdom work at Bethel Seminary and other worthy ministries. Contact Jim Spickelmier at 651.635.8054 or j-spickelmier@bethel.edu.