Investing Wisely
Couple gives up retirement savings to open Hispanic community center in Kentucky
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When Jim and Dot Bennett met as Spanish majors at Penn State University, they had no idea how the Lord would open doors to minister in ways they never could have imagined. After a journey of faith, years of hard work, and prayer, they opened a 12,000-square-foot center for the growing Hispanic population who live in eastern Kentucky.
Jim and Dot Bennett / Video screenshot
Looking back, they can see God’s hand and provision, even in the difficult times.
“After I graduated from college, the economy was in bad shape and I couldn’t find a job,” said Jim on a taped interview with Generous Giving. “As a last resort, I did what my parents had begged me never to do. I went to work in the underground coal mine as a general laborer and learned to operate equipment.”
Jim, a resident in Lexington, Kentucky, talked about his close encounters with methane ignitions and falling rocks in the mining industry. Those dangers prompted him to find ways to prevent loss and increase safety. Over time, he began helping other businesses do the same, mostly in Latin America, where speaking Spanish was a huge benefit.
“I eventually decided to start my international consulting practice, LPS+ Loss Prevention System Plus for mining and gas companies. We now work in over 120 countries and work with companies to help them transform how they look at business, how they treat people, and how they protect the environment,” said Jim.
During that time, Dot was working with the Hispanic community through the Kentucky Rivers Foothill Head Start program. She felt compassion for immigrants, thinking of her own family’s journey as immigrants seeking a better life and of the struggles they faced to get on their feet.
“The fact that they don’t speak or understand English adds to their struggle,” added Dot. “So many are trying to navigate the health and legal systems.”
At one point, Dot asked Jim why he didn’t go through the diaconate program and serve in the Catholic Church as a deacon at Saint Mark Catholic Church.
They ended up going through that program together, and later began serving in the growing Hispanic ministry.
Jim felt the Lord urge him to do more. “I had a knot in my stomach,” he said. “I felt like I had taken the easy way out.”
One Sunday, Jim preached a sermon on the parable of the servants and the talents entrusted to them. The first two invested wisely and made a profit for the owner. Out of fear, the third servant buried his treasure in the ground.
Jim felt the weight of conviction as he took his seat. He had been acting like the third servant.
The couple resolved to become better advocates for the community they served. They noticed many of the issues immigrants faced were prevalent everywhere they looked.
“We’ve got to do something,” Dot and Jim agreed.
They discussed building a center to provide medical counseling, education, faith-based services, and legal assistance, primarily serving the Hispanic community.
“It was going to cost about 4 million bucks, pushing us to the end,” recounted Jim. “We would be giving up our retirement, all the resources we had to open the doors, and the time it takes to run a place like that. But God was testing our faith, and we knew we had to make it work, no matter how hard it was.”
The couple moved forward and after five years of hard work, Centro de San Juan Diego became a reality in 2020. Their mission statement centered around Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
Video screenshot
“I felt liberated because we were finally doing what God wanted us to do,” Jim said.
Opening the center in the middle of the COVID pandemic proved to be physically and financially challenging.
“Money was going out,” Jim said, “but no resources were coming in, and we were doing everything ourselves, even mowing the grass. Our faith was being tested, but we had no regrets.”
Looking back, Jim and Dot know their success isn’t measured by the number of people they have helped but by being like the servant who invested his talents wisely.
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