JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 This month, Rick Wheeler, president and chief executive officer of Florida Baptist Financial Services, signed the 2025 distribution of the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund to Mission:Dignity. Supporting nearly 300 retired Florida Baptist pastors and their spouses or widows, this year\u2019s record-breaking amount represents the largest gift in the history of the Florida fund \u2013 $278,285.41.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of our board of directors, I am pleased to announce that this year\u2019s gift from the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund represents the single largest gift we have been delighted to forward to these saints in need,\u201d said Wheeler. \u201cAs a cooperating ministry of the Florida Baptist Convention, \u2018Stewardship. Simplified.\u2019\u00a0is constantly looking for ways to financially resource the many Great Commission causes of Florida Baptists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund, Florida Baptist Financial Services is able to partner with GuideStone Financial Resources\u2019 Mission:Dignity to provide an extra check \u2013 a 13th check \u2013 to retired pastors and their wives or their widows in the Sunshine State, many of whom spent their entire lives in ministry, often serving at smaller churches which had smaller budgets and were unable to contribute toward any type of retirement fund.<\/p>\n
Aaron Meraz, director of Mission:Dignity, immediately posted to social media his appreciation to Florida Baptists for this record-breaking financial gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cMission:Dignity can\u2019t say \u2018THANK YOU\u2019 enough to Florida Baptist Financial Services and Rick Wheeler,\u201d Meraz wrote. \u201cThe generosity to these Florida recipients and those who served in Florida is truly an incredible blessing!\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida Baptist Financial Services has facilitated stewardship and generosity among Florida Baptists and has served as the charitable foundation of the Florida Baptist Convention since 1947. In 2022 Florida Baptist Financial Services began partnering with Mission:Dignity and GuideStone when the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund was launched following the sale of the Florida Baptist Retirement Center in Vero Beach. Since then, the total amount distributed from the fund has been more than $750,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful to provide these funds from the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund,\u201d said Wheeler. \u201cTogether, we are truly making a difference in the lives of these heroes of the faith who have faithfully led and blessed Florida Baptist churches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the nation, more than $9 million is distributed annually through Mission:Dignity, ensuring a well-deserved dignity and independence to those who have served faithfully in local Southern Baptist churches. Of the 2,700 individuals receiving assistance each year, approximately 60% of the recipients are widows. One of four is a pastor\u2019s widow age 85 or older.<\/p>\n
Wheeler said Mission:Dignity and the Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund are a natural channel to provide aid to those who deserve the highest honor as \u201cheroes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand on the shoulders of these wonderful heroes of the faith who have faithfully served churches across Florida,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat a joy it is to help meet their needs. May we be found faithful in our generation as they were in theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
To participate in giving to the Florida Baptist Retired Shepherd\u2019s Fund, please contact Florida Baptist Financial Services at 904-345-3222 or by email at\u00a0rwheeler@floridabaptist.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more information on assistance provided by Mission:Dignity for retired ministers, please go to\u00a0https:\/\/www.guidestone.org\/Mission-Dignity<\/a>.<\/p>\n