A Personal Testimony

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

In 1985, 11 years before my service as KBF president began, my wife and I established the Barry G. and Larie G. Endowment Fund with the KBF.

We established the account with a modest gift of appreciated stock and directed the KBF to reinvest the earnings until the market value of the account attained a specific target balance. Upon the attainment of the target balance, the earnings would begin to be distributed, until the Lord returns, among several Baptist causes which were near and dear to our hearts.

In addition to the initial gift, my wife and I have continued to make contributions to the fund over the years. Our gifts have been in the form of cash, appreciated stock and life insurance policies. And, we have a provision in our estate plan to contribute to it as well.

As a result of our continued contributions and the KBF’s excellent investment performance, the fund attained its target balance in 1997, and the KBF began making distributions at that time. The distributions continue to grow as the fund grows.

I am sharing this word of stewardship testimony for these reasons:

· Integrity. I would not ask you to do what I had not done already.

· Trust. We believe the KBF board and staff are steadfast and solid and will do until the Lord returns what we directed them to do, and they will do it with excellence.

· Simplicity. Most of you, like us, have more than one favorite Christian cause. The KBF can simplify the giving process by establishing one account but distributing the earnings to multiple causes.

· Joy. I wanted to share with you the joy we are experiencing (a) by seeing while we are alive how these Great Commission ministries are changing peoples’ lives in the name of Jesus Christ and (b) by having the assurance we shall be involved in these ministries as they continue to impact the world for Christ beyond our lifetimes.

Please give Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel, or me the privilege of assisting you in experiencing the joy that comes by giving to connect all people to Jesus Christ, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” Call us 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.