Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Stewardship Truths #3

A 12 part series discussing stewardship.

By: Barry G. Allen



Demonstrate your dependence upon and dedication to God through your giving.

Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your substance….”

The root meaning of the word “honor” is “heavy,” or “to weigh.” It suggests God is to have great significance, or to weigh heavily, in our lives – and – we are to show it by how we give.

The word substance is an all inclusive term; it includes our stocks, bonds, life insurance, real estate –everything.

Most christians have never even considered tithing the value of their substance, their accumulated wealth.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Legacy Giving Through the CP

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Since the inception of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation in 1945 there have been those who chose the Cooperative Program as an object of their legacy gifts. For them it was the simplest and most efficient way to express their love for Christ and his mission in this world through the various missionary, educational and benevolent ministries of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Today, the earnings from the combined endowments for which the CP is a beneficiary represents the second largest source of CP giving through the KBC. Only one church gives more. The difference is CP endowment giving is perpetual.

Traditionally, the CP is supported primarily by the collective giving of the churches. However, there are ways individuals, not just churches, can support the CP directly through the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. Let me encourage you to consider prayerfully one or more of those ways. Cooperative Program Sunday is April 13, which provides a timely occasion for you to begin your consideration.

If your goal is to make a gift at death, then consider a bequest in your will or a beneficiary designation of life insurance or retirement assets. If your goal is to avoid capital gains on the transfer of real estate, then consider a real estate gift. If your goal is to avoid the potential double taxation at death of your retirement assets, then consider gifting those assets at death. If you goal is to make a simple gift now, then consider an outright gift of cash or appreciated securities. If your goal is to make a gift larger than you ever dreamed possible, consider a life insurance gift. If you desire flexibility in timing the decision as to what charities will benefit from your gifts versus the tax advantaged timing of your gifts, consider a donor advised fund. If your goal is to make a gift now, but receive in return a fixed income for life, consider a charitable gift annuity. If your goal is to make a gift now and create a hedge against inflation over the long term, then consider a charitable remainder unitrust. If your goal is to reduce the cost of passing assets to your heirs, then consider a charitable lead trust.

A legacy gift to the KBF for the perpetual benefit of the CP is an investment with eternal implications that will be working literally 24/7 to connect people all over the world to Jesus Christ. Please call us toll free to assist you.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Twelve Steps For Christian Estate Planning- Step 3

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel

A Christian estate plan is one you develop by determining how God wants you to: (1) provide for your family and other “dependents” at your death and (2) have your finances managed and decisions made for you if you became incapacitated and no longer able to do those things for yourself.

Step #3 Coordinate Your Plan. Efficiently and effectively accomplishing God’s plans for how your assets are to pass at your death requires you put together a “coordinated” plan for how they will pass.

Assets that are beneficiary-designated such as life insurance and retirement accounts will pass per the terms of the beneficiary designation document, not per the terms of your Will. Likewise, jointly-owned assets will pass to the surviving joint owner at your death, no matter what your Will says.

Only assets in your name alone or designated to be paid to your estate pass as your Will directs.

Failure to coordinate how assets will pass may result in a beneficiary receiving assets in a way you did not intend. Example: it is your intention anything passing to your son at your death is to be held in trust for him until he is 25. Your plan includes both a bequest to the trust in your Will and a life insurance beneficiary designation naming your son as beneficiary. The bequest will be placed in trust, but the life insurance will be paid directly to your son, whether he has reached age 25 at the time of your death or not.

Next Month-Step #4 Plan Your Use of Joint Ownership. 

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Missions Legacy

By: Barry G. Allen-President & CEO

This week I want to share another testimonial of a story of Christian stewardship that linked a retired couple together with their church and the Kentucky Baptist Foundation in a sacred trust.

This wonderful couple had two adult children and grandchildren. They were very active in all aspects of their church. She was active in WMU and the missions committee; he was a deacon, Sunday school teacher and involved in weekend lay revivals. But, missions was their first love, and over the years they combined their love for missions and their love of travel into a series of short term mission trips, including several trips with the KBC partnership missions groups.

Their love for missions and their sense of stewardship resulted in a desire to establish a missions legacy. Their pastor recommended they contact me. I met with them in their home. What an informative and inspirational experience that visit was for me! I listened with admiration, appreciation and affection as they shared not only their stewardship testimonies but also their compassion for those who were without Christ and their passion to continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ beyond their lifetimes.

So, it was fitting this faithful, generous couple established with the Kentucky Baptist Foundation a perpetual endowment fund bearing their names the earnings from which are distributed to their church, and will continue to be until the Lord returns, to provide financial resources for other church members to carry on their missions legacy by participating in short term mission trips.

Remember the story of Jesus feeding the 5000? The great truth of that experience is: Jesus is the great satisfier and the great multiplier. He satisfies our hunger and multiplies our potential. This couple understood that Jesus takes what we give to Him and multiplies it to meet the needs of the world; he can multiply our little into a lot. Jesus takes our insufficiency and makes it sufficient; he takes our inadequacy and multiplies it into an abundance. What this couple came to realize was what each of us must come to realize, and that is: obedience leads to abundance.

I encourage the many of you who have participated in short term volunteer mission trips to emulate this couple’s example of faithfulness, obedience and generosity. Laurie Valentine and I are here to assist you like we assisted them. Please call toll free.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.