The Directors of Baptist Faith Missions spend a great amount of time and prayer toward meeting the needs of your missionaries. Our thoughts and actions are directed not in just meeting today’s missionary needs, but looking forward five, ten, and twenty years from now.  We are committed to the present and future financial solvency of Baptist Faith Missions as well as its ability to fulfill our existing commitments to garner future growth.

Beginning in 2017, all funds received in the Founder’s Day Offering will be directed toward current and future missionary retirement support.  An immediate strategic challenge we face is meeting promised obligations of our retired missionaries and their widows.

To that end, BFM Directors are recommending a pay-as-you go retirement program instead of funding retirement obligations due fifteen to thirty years from now.  Currently, our missionaries are not vested in our traditional retirement program until having served at least fifteen years, with a sliding scale to full retirement being received after serving thirty years and reaching sixty-five years of age.

BFM Directors are not recommending changes for missionaries near or in retirement.  Rather, BFM policies are changing by requiring all new missionaries establish a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) in their first year as a missionary.

This change offers substantial opportunity for the new and existing younger missionary.

• First, the new missionary begins receiving tangible retirement funds under his control starting the first year of missionary service. It is important to remember taxes will be prepaid only on the investment amount, not on interest and compounding returns.
• Second, with investment and compounding over twenty-five or thirty years, the missionary should have a minimum retirement fund of several hundred thousand dollars that can be withdrawn tax-free with the balance upon death passed on to his dependents.
• Third, should Baptist Faith Missions become insolvent or dissolved for any reason, these retirement funds are linked to the individual missionary, not Baptist Faith Missions.
• Fourth, existing missionaries who choose this proposal will be given an additional salary bonus for each year of previous service to date to be placed in their Roth Individual Retirement Account. This salary bonus will be spread out over future service years based on the maximum amount each individual can contribute to a Roth IRA.

It has been said that a missionary never retires in heart and spirit, but the years may take a toll on the body and mind forcing a change in life.  This is reflected in the life of John and Alta Hatcher who have served our Lord in Brazil over 60 years. They are directly and indirectly instrumental in tens of thousands coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, planting dozens of churches, and raising a family driven to serve the Lord.  Their missionary heart and spirit continues in their children and grandchildren.  “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! …” Matthew 24:21

Retirement for a missionary can be an emotional and spiritual struggle.  While actively serving on the field, the missionary is often busy fulfilling speaking engagements, counseling, directing projects, advising local pastors, teaching classes, etc.  Once retirement is necessary, the missionary and his wife are often shown benign neglect. Coming home from the mission field to their supporting church, the missionary and his wife are often surrounded by a younger generation who may consider them too old to be useful. This can make their transition much more difficult.

Missionaries are so focused on their everyday responsibilities their future physical and financial security becomes of lesser importance.  Many are not able to claim Social Security benefits because of not having worked and paid into it in the traditional sense.  They have put their future in the Lord’s hands.  Baptist Faith Missions, by your contributions, has made a commitment to provide a defined benefit (pension) or a defined contribution (Roth IRA) retirement program to your missionary.

The following is a list of our missionaries who have retired or who have returned to the States for health or family issues or to transition to Stateside-based ministry.  Pray for them.  Reach out to them through every means you can (call, write, e-mail), and let them know you still appreciate them and their service.  They would love to hear from you personally, or from your Sunday School class, or your church leadership.

• Mike and Pam Anderson (Kenya)
• Dana and Becky Adams (Philippines)
• Harold Bratcher (Brazil)
• Louie and Mary Carver (Korea / Philippines)
• Bobby Creiglow (Brazil)
• Harold and Ursula Draper (Brazil)
• John and Alta Hatcher (Brazil)
• Paul and Wanda Hatcher (Brazil)
• Deloris Lauerman (Walter, deceased / Peru, Honduras)
• Sheridan and Anita Stanton (Peru)
• Wanda Turner (Richard, deceased / Brazil)
• Bobby and Charlene Wacaser (Brazil)

Your missionaries and their families have served and sacrificed greatly on your behalf during their productive years.  Please make a small financial sacrifice for your missionaries in their senior years by giving to the Founders Day Fund. 

Contributions may be mailed to:
Baptist Faith Missions
George Sledd, Treasurer
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

Contributions may also be made online by going to www.baptistfaithmissions.org and selecting the tab labeled ‘Donate / Support’ or by clicking here.