“If the Lord is lord of all, that means all,” Barry Bledsoe, president of The Baptist Foundation of Alabama, told convention messengers as he encouraged them to consider estate planning.
Delivering his report to the convention Nov. 19, Bledsoe said the average American income is 9 percent cash and 91 percent noncash and that 96 percent of giving to the church comes from the 9 percent amount.
But shouldn’t the Lord be lord of the noncash amount as well? he asked. “One of our primary goals is to connect lay and clergy leadership to the idea of estate assets,” Bledsoe said, outlining three basic financial ministries of the Foundation.
- Administer permanent endowment gifts.
- Assist churches in institutional investment management.
- Promote stewardship of estate assets among all Alabama Baptists.
“One way I could acknowledge the Lord was how I planned my estate,” Bledsoe said. “We have a stewardship of estate asset ministry here at my church, First Baptist Church, Montgomery. I dream of the day when every mature believer in this church (and other churches) realizes that a normal way of business is how they plan their estate.”
And the Foundation works to help churches educate their members through seminars and an ongoing estate stewardship ministry in partnership with PhilanthroCorp: America’s Planned Giving Solution, he explained.
Through this stewardship training, one will learn about God’s perspective on stewardship, provide for those dependent on him or her and find ways to make an eternal impact, Bledsoe said.
“This is the only ministry of the church that is an enormous success if you get five or 10 couples a year to have that ‘aha’ moment and do estate planning,” he noted. “Stewardship of estate assets — the single largest act of stewardship most of us will ever undertake.
“Will it become a way of life in our churches, or is it going to become a missed opportunity?”
According to the Book of Reports, the Foundation has served as the trust agency for Alabama Baptists for more than 67 years. The Foundation’s total assets for 2007 topped $234 million. “The Foundation staff is available, without cost or obligation, to provide confidential assistance to Alabama Baptists as they become sensitive to the need to be better stewards of their estates for the Lord’s work,” the Book of Reports says.
For more information about The Baptist Foundation of Alabama, visit www.tbfa.org.
Share with others: