At the very heart of the Board of Retirement is the motto, "Serving those who serve others."

Labor of Love

by D. Ray Lewis

For more than 40 years the Board of Retirement has been serving others by offering retirement and life insurance benefits to Free Will Baptist ministers, missionaries, and lay employees.

In spite of efforts to help those who serve us to have sufficient retirement income for daily needs, many participants retire with barely enough income to pay mortgage or rent, buy groceries, pay utilities, purchase prescriptions, or receive proper medical care.

Many retirees are like the first-century Christians in Jerusalem who were facing a severe famine. Paul did not sit idly by when he saw the poverty of those early believers. He called on fellow believers to join with him by sharing generously on their behalf. He said, “For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).

Paul knew that every gift would meet a particular need for food or other essentials. Even more, he was sure those on the receiving end would give back something in return—words of thanks to God for caring for them and for using others as His instruments of blessing.

At this year’s National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Board of Retirement launched the Labor of Love Campaign with the long-range goal of providing supplemental retirement benefits to retired Free Will Baptist ministers and lay employees who need assistance in meeting daily needs.

Many retired ministers pastored small, rural churches that provided only a modest salary and little, if any, retirement contributions. These men stood before their congregations Sunday after Sunday proclaiming God’s Word. They were there when members of their congregation were saved, were married, lost loved ones, or were suffering.

Others served Free Will Baptists in non-pastoral roles—men and women who taught in Christian schools, served as church secretaries, cleaned churches, etc. Often, these positions are not highly compensated and seldom provide retirement benefits, yet these faithful servants dedicated their careers to serving Free Will Baptists.

We love and appreciate these men and women and want to provide extra retirement benefits for them and their families. Like the Apostle Paul, we’re calling on you, asking you to join us in helping the men and women who have served us faithfully.

In the first phase of our campaign we are looking for 1,000 generous individuals, churches, WNAC and Master’s Men chapters, Sunday School classes, or other groups who will pledge at least $10 per month for one year or make a one-time gift of at least $120 to fund an endowment with the Free Will Baptist Foundation. Every dollar will go directly to the endowment to assist those who have dedicated their lives to serving us. No gift is too small.

I invite you to honor these precious men and women with your gift to the Labor of Love endowment fund. Then thank God for the privilege of being Christ’s arms extended to those who have dedicated their lives to serving the Free Will Baptist family.

For everyone who pledges at least $10 per month for a year or makes a one-time gift of $120, we will send your choice of a cassette or CD of Herman Hersey’s Golden Bells or the Christmas album, Joy to the World.

Each gift will be permanently recorded in a Book of Remembrance to be displayed in Board of Retirement office. May God bless you as you share your blessings with those who have served us so faithfully.

Learn more at www.boardofretirement.com or by calling 877-767-7662.

About the Writer: D. Ray Lewis is director of the Free Will Baptist Board of Retirement.