Since 1904, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc. has served persons with developmental disabilities. It began as a residential and training under the auspices of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and continues today as an expanded national program of residential facilities, group homes, and congregational support for ministries among people with disabilities. While Bethesda has remained faithful to its religious base, it has responded to shifting program emphases in the social arena. In recent years, it has expanded its work to countries of Eastern Europe and elsewhere in order to demonstrate that people with developmental disabilities deserve dignity and respect as God's children.