The Luke Society 
The information on this page was last updated 7/7/2022. If you see errors or omissions, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
Summary
The Luke Society provides resources and support for international Christian health visionaries who care for the needs of their own people. We empower nationals to use their gifts in medicine as a tool to share the love of Jesus Christ and His redeeming grace.
Contact information
Mailing address:
The Luke Society
3409 Gateway Blvd.
Sioux Falls, SD 57106
Website: www.lukesociety.org
Phone: (605) 373-9686
Email: office@lukesociety.org
Organization details
EIN: 840563440
CEO/President: Brent Van Andel, M.D.
Chairman: Stewart Odell, M.D.
Board size: 11
Founder: Dr. Peter Boelens
Ruling year: 1966
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1987
Purpose
Vision: To participate in God's plan of redemption by following Jesus' example of teaching, preaching, and healing.
The Luke Society is a Christian ministry that works internationally with indigenous medical professionals to bring healing and hope through Jesus Christ. We support and empower nationals as they serve the Lord among their own people, language and culture, and in doing so, carrying out the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to "go and make disciples of all nations."
Mission statement
The Luke Society comes alongside indigenous health professionals who are called to serve their own people. Our primary purpose is to empower them to provide quality medical care and health education as they share the Gospel of Jesus. We equip these Christian visionaries through encouragement, prayer support, mentoring and financial assistance. Ours is a Christ-centered ministry of evangelism and discipleship, transforming communities by reconciling man to man and man to God through the truth of the Gospel.
Statement of faith
(Adopted from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability)
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God.
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity and humanity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His present rule as Head of the Church and in His personal return in power and glory.
We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful men regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the barrenness of damnation.
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, with equality across racial, gender, and class differences.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Relief and Development
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 524 of 1031 | 40 of 85 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 168 of 1033 | 17 of 85 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 396 of 1033 | 35 of 85 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 1002 of 1031 | 82 of 85 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 6% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 6% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 99% | 88% | 89% | 104% | 92% | 98% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 6% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 1% | 12% | 11% | -4% | 8% | 2% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 85% | 89% | 90% | 90% | 88% | 88% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 93% | 65% | 78% | 89% | 87% | 74% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 78% | 58% | 71% | 80% | 77% | 65% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 7% | 35% | 22% | 11% | 13% | 26% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 13% | 21% | 16% | 8% | 10% | 25% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 7% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 10% | 10% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 1.50 | 0.38 | 0.56 | 0.57 | 0.66 | 0.71 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.22 | 4.64 | 4.92 | 3.64 | 3.86 | 3.65 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 2.22 | 1.77 | 2.73 | 2.08 | 2.57 | 2.60 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 9.59 | 55.12 | 39.71 | 38.91 | 45.02 | 47.45 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.10 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 4.53 | 6.64 | 4.28 | 5.61 | 4.57 | 4.52 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 11% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 52% | 261% | 179% | 173% | 149% | 139% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $1,666,759 | $1,248,076 | $1,468,694 | $1,272,191 | $1,206,912 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $88,976 | $70,453 | $41,394 | $42,539 | $43,553 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $1,755,735 | $1,318,529 | $1,510,088 | $1,314,730 | $1,250,465 |
| Long-term investments | $5,567,143 | $4,376,644 | $3,168,979 | $2,976,561 | $2,600,085 |
| Fixed assets | $704,549 | $649,289 | $663,320 | $676,640 | $691,658 |
| Other long-term assets | $126,833 | $145,253 | $150,340 | $107,000 | $16,000 |
| Total long-term assets | $6,398,525 | $5,171,186 | $3,982,639 | $3,760,201 | $3,307,743 |
| Total assets | $8,154,260 | $6,489,715 | $5,492,727 | $5,074,931 | $4,558,208 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $29,374 | $30,722 | $36,329 | $26,723 | $23,874 |
| Other current liabilities | $2,478 | $2,478 | $2,478 | $2,478 | $2,478 |
| Total current liabilities | $31,852 | $33,200 | $38,807 | $29,201 | $26,352 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $8,753 | $9,724 | $10,229 | $10,738 | $11,251 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $8,753 | $9,724 | $10,229 | $10,738 | $11,251 |
| Total liabilities | $40,605 | $42,924 | $49,036 | $39,939 | $37,603 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $6,441,959 | $4,941,742 | $3,976,183 | $3,636,413 | $3,112,389 |
| With donor restrictions | $1,671,696 | $1,505,049 | $1,467,508 | $1,398,579 | $1,408,216 |
| Net assets | $8,113,655 | $6,446,791 | $5,443,691 | $5,034,992 | $4,520,605 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $4,211,285 | $4,087,890 | $3,713,594 | $3,578,303 | $4,322,742 |
| Program service revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $570,298 | $520,964 | ($157,210) | $311,313 | $71,652 |
| Other revenue | ($1,042) | $364 | $713 | ($1,205) | ($2,426) |
| Total other revenue | $569,256 | $521,328 | ($156,497) | $310,108 | $69,226 |
| Total revenue | $4,780,541 | $4,609,218 | $3,557,097 | $3,888,411 | $4,391,968 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $2,768,104 | $3,249,884 | $2,834,415 | $2,985,444 | $2,849,209 |
| Management and general | $281,249 | $278,323 | $254,655 | $325,140 | $333,035 |
| Fundraising | $64,324 | $77,911 | $59,328 | $63,440 | $69,427 |
| Total expenses | $3,113,677 | $3,606,118 | $3,148,398 | $3,374,024 | $3,251,671 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $1,666,864 | $1,003,100 | $408,699 | $514,387 | $1,140,297 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $1,666,864 | $1,003,100 | $408,699 | $514,387 | $1,140,297 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Wrede Vogel Md | Executive Di | $189,570 |
| Greg Kuiper Md | Dir Ministry | $173,120 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2020
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 7/7/2022. To update the information below, please email: info@ministrywatch.com
History
Luke Society inception
As a volunteer physician in Rehoboth, NM, in 1964, Dr. Marvin "Van" Vanden Bosch of Denver, Colo., felt the Lord calling him to help the Rehoboth Mission Hospital, deemed "inadequate" by the New Mexico Department of Public Health.
Vanden Bosch, along with five other doctors and dentists, met in the basement of the Third Christian Reformed Church in Denver to lay the groundwork for a new nonprofit organization to support and ensure the continuity of health care in Rehoboth. The organization was named the Luke Society, Inc., and was approved by the Christian Reformed Church Synod in 1964.
Vanden Bosch served as the Luke Society's first medical director in Rehoboth from 1964-68, and the facility was renamed to the Rehoboth Christian Hospital.
Within five years, the Luke Society had grown to 120 members, who were instrumental in constructing and dedicating a new Rehoboth hospital in 1970.
Domestic expansion
After serving as a pediatric missionary in South Korea for six years, Dr. Peter Boelens sensed the Lord calling him into a new mission field.
In 1971, Boelens made an appeal to the Luke Society to support a new ministry in the Mississippi Delta aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty by teaching Biblical principles through a holistic health approach.
The Luke Society Board of Directors approved his proposal and he began a ministry in Cary, Mississippi, where he initially worked out of a 12-by-60-foot mobile trailer. His work had an immediate impact and provided a much-needed service to one of the most impoverished areas in the United States.
Boelens later became the first executive director of the Luke Society in 1978.
International growth
While serving as a missionary in South Korea, Dr. Peter Boelens witnessed the global need for medical professionals in remote areas.
In 1978, with the board's blessing, Boelens worked with Christian agencies to explore opportunities for medical ministries internationally. Boelens recognized the best way to do this was not through U.S. doctors, but by empowering indigenous professionals who knew the local culture, languages and medical needs of each region.
The Luke Society's first international partnership was started in the Philippines in 1980. Within 10 years, the ministry had expanded to Ecuador, Dominican Republic, India, Ghana, Mexico, Peru, Uganda and Honduras.
To the ends of the earth
The Luke Society has come a long ways since its humble beginnings in Rehoboth, New Mexico. At the beginning of 2022, the Luke Society was actively partnering with 37 ministries in 29 different countries - a span that reaches across five continents.
However, the impact cannot be completely understood without acknowledging the thousands of lives who have experienced the Spirit's transforming power during the last six decades. Since 1964, the Luke Society has supported indigenous doctors and medical professionals at 79 ministry sites in 43 countries, each who use their skills in medicine as a tool for a greater calling to improve their communities and transform lives through Jesus Christ.
Program accomplishments
Needs
The Luke Society has a variety of ways you can be an encouragement to our ministry. Whether offering financial support, volunteer service or becoming a prayer warrior, we appreciate all those who are helping us to further the ministry of Christ's Kingdom.