JACKSON, Miss. (Special) – Mississippi participants in the Mission:Dignity program to support retired Baptist ministers and their spouses in need will begin receiving an extra “13thcheck” beginning this year and annually, after the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) approved the formation of a special fund at the Mississippi Baptist Foundation.
Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, “honors retirement-age Southern Baptist ministers, workers, and widows struggling to meet basic needs through advocacy and financial assistance,” according to its website.
In Mississippi, 107 current Mission:Dignity recipients will receive the 13th check, which will be the same amount as their regular monthly benefit. Mississippi marks the third state to offer such a partnership between Mission:Dignity/GuideStoneand state Baptist conventions. Similar programs are underway in South Carolina and Arkansas.
The genesis for the 13th check partnership was a meeting between Aaron Meraz, director of Mission:Dignity, and Shawn Parker, MBCB executive director-treasurer. Thanks to the generous gifts of Mississippi Baptists in supporting the 2021 Mississippi Baptist Cooperative Program, $360,000 in surplus funds was placed under the management of the Mississippi Baptist Foundation for the 13th Check ministry.
“Mississippi Baptists are incredibly thankful for the ministry to retirees provided through GuideStone’s Mission Dignity program,” Parker said. “The opportunity we have to partner with them to provide additional support for those who served our churches so faithfully is a rich blessing.
“When the recommendation was made to our Board to begin a fund to offer a 13th check to these recipients, the Board’s response was spontaneous applause. I think that reflects Mississippi Baptists’ heart for helping those who have helped so many others in the name of our Lord.
“I’m thankful to Mississippi Baptists for their generosity to make this happen, and I’m deeply appreciative for our partnership with GuideStone to make it a reality,” Parker said.
In 2021, Mission:Dignity helped more than 2,500 individuals with extra money needed for housing, food, and vital medications. It also ensures well-deserved dignity, independence, and often the ability to continue serving the Lord.
“At GuideStone, we’re on a mission to provide dignity to retired pastors, and in most cases their widows,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. “As we work alongside our state convention partners, it is rewarding and humbling to see them continue to catch the vision for providing financial assistance — a double honor — to those who have served so faithfully.”
Hance Dilbeck, president-elect of GuideStone who will replace the retiring Hawkins in the first quarter of 2022, said, “This partnership shows the strength of working together among local churches, state conventions, the state foundations, and through GuideStone.
“We are so thankful for the leadership of Shawn Parker, for the commitment of the Mississippi Baptists’ Board, and the generosity of so many in the Magnolia State for making this a reality,” Dilbeck said.
Mission:Dignity recipients in Mississippi should receive the extra payment in February. For more information on Mission:Dignity, to donate in support of the ministry, apply for assistance, or refer someone in need, visit http://www.guidestone.org/mission-dignity.
