Georgia Baptist Mission Board state missionaries provide additional assistance to retired pastors, their widows

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Mission:Dignity letter A handwritten letter from a Mission:Dignity recipient expressed her thankfulness to Georgia Baptist Mission Board state missionaries.

Georgia Baptist Mission Board state missionaries have pledged financial assistance toward Guidestone’s Mission:Dignity ministry to help struggling retired ministers and their widows.

The voluntary contribution, made through payroll deduction, will provide additional monthly income to 4 retirees who are struggling to make ends meet.

Mission:Dignity helps almost 1,800 retired SBC ministers, workers or their widows by providing monthly income to qualified recipients and pays out more than $6.5 million annually in assistance. The majority of the funding comes from the direct gifts of individuals, groups, and churches. The contributions from the Georgia state missionaries will provided an additional four monthly stipends to such individuals in the state.

In an email to staff, Georgia Baptist Mission Board State Missionary Keith Hamilton – who oversees the agency’s Guidestone Retirement and Insurance Services ministry – recounted how he had recently worked with “a long time Georgia pastor who is going to have to retire before age 70. His total income between Social Security and his Guidestone retirement would be around $700 a month.

“With tears in his eyes, I told him about an additional $300 monthly that would be available through Mission: Dignity. Can you imagine his response?

“He said now he could make it!”

Individuals who are interested in participating in the ministry can provide an online gift at missiondignitysbc.org. Contributions can be made through a credit card, checking account, or monthly withdrawal using Electronic Funds Transfer from a checking or savings account.

Other long term options are also available, such as by funding a charitable gift annuity, through a will, or estate planning.

Mission:Dignity gifts go 100 percent to those in need with nothing taken out for administrative expenses and are tax-deductible to the maximum amount allow by law.

Georgia Baptist Mission Board, Guidestone, Mission Dignity, retirement