Retired pastors and their widows to be honored on Mission:Dignity Sunday

By Megan Young
Associate Editor

Shawn Parker, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board executive director-treasurer, joined “Mission:Dignity” podcast host Chad Vandiver, manager for recipient relations at Mission:Dignity with GuideStone Financial Resources, to discuss the importance of supporting retired pastors and their widows in advance of Mission: Dignity Sunday to be observed on June 22.

Retired pastors and their widows should never be forgotten. 

That is the core belief of Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone Financial Services launched in 1918. Still going strong more than 100 years later, the ministry seeks to honor retirement-aged Southern Baptist ministers, workers, and widows struggling to meet basic needs through advocacy and financial assistance.

Shawn Parker, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board executive director-treasurer, believes in this mission wholeheartedly. As a former pastor for 30 years and a GuideStone trustee, he knows firsthand the commitment and sacrifice pastors pour into their calling and the financial hardships they oftentimes face. 

“God calls people to vocational ministry, and that has been the heart of who we are as Southern Baptists for generations,” said Parker. “Sometimes when He calls people to vocational ministry, that means that He’s going to send them to difficult and challenging places. 

“Some of the finest pastors I know are in some of the hardest places to serve, and they’re not being paid high salaries. And they are wonderful preachers of the word and outstanding leaders, and they have great organizational skills, and yet they continue to serve right where they are because they are called by God to do what they do and to serve where they serve.”

That service can prove difficult in a predominantly rural state like Mississippi, where one in five people live below the poverty line and a majority of churches run 100 or fewer in attendance.

Many churches in these demographics historically have been able to supplement their pastor’s income by providing them with a place to live. However, when these pastors retire, they are often left with little financial stability.

“What that means is that some of these pastors that had pastorium or parsonages during the course of their ministry, and when they retired, had no home,” said Parker. “They had lived off of meager means and perhaps had not been able to prepare as adequately as perhaps they would’ve preferred for retirement, and they find themselves in financial straits.”

Mission:Dignity steps in to fill the gap in these circumstances, supplying more than 2,800 individuals every year with a monthly check that provides extra money needed for housing, food, and vital medications. 

‘13th Check’

In support of Mission:Dignity’s work, Parker has spearheaded the development of a special initiative in Mississippi to further supplement the benefits retired pastors and their widows receive. Through a special allocation, Mississippi Baptists are able to provide Mission:Diginity recipients in the state with one extra check a year — a 13th check.

The “13th Check” initiative took root in Mississippi during the most unlikely time — in 2020 when the world was responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, like other state conventions, reduced its budget significantly, anticipating an economic downturn and the affects it would have on Cooperative Program giving. 

“Praise the Lord,” said Parker, “the members of Mississippi Baptist churches did not reduce their giving and churches did not reduce their Cooperative Program giving. So at the end of the fiscal year, we ended up with a large excess that had not been allocated.” 

After designating percentages of the excess funds to the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board, Parker realized this would be a perfect opportunity to allocate funds for a 13th Check program for Mission:Dignity recipients in Mississippi.

The executive committee and board of trustees overwhelmingly approved the special allocation.

“When the recommendation was presented and the board voted on it, there was spontaneous applause and ovation for the idea,” said Parker. “Ever since that moment, I think all of our board and all of the leadership in Mississippi Baptist life has been clued into the fact that we were able to do something unique. We were able to do something somewhat trendsetting, and it’s made a difference not just in Mississippi, but truly in some other state conventions as well.”

As one of the first states to implement a 13th Check program, Parker encourages other conventions to join Mississippi in this ministry endeavor.

“I think it’s very accessible for every state convention to accomplish this,” said Parker. “The financial responsibility is probably not as great as any state convention might expect it to be.”

Not only is this ministry financially feasible, Parker believes that it is biblically mandated. Referencing 1 Timothy chapter 5 and James 1:27, he points to the command to support widows and those that may not be able to care for themselves.

“They were willing to serve sacrificially, and this is an opportunity for Mississippi Baptists to give back to them for their faithfulness to the Lord,” said Parker.

The 13th Check is often received in early January, just after the holiday season when finances are stretched extra thin. Recipients are truly grateful for the support and often send letters of thankfulness to the convention board. 

“I sit at my desk and I open these letters and notes and I read them, and I sometimes swell up with tears at the sense of appreciation that comes from these recipients,” said Parker, “when in reality what we’re wanting to do is express our appreciation for them.”

Parker always refers back to the motto of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board — unifying and multiplying local churches — when speaking about the importance of Mission:Dignity and the 13th Check program.

“We are what we call church-centric as Mississippi Baptists,” said Parker. “If indeed you’re going to be church-centric, then you need to do everything you can to strengthen the local church. And one of the best things to strengthen the local church is to undergird pastors. I really don’t know of anything long-term that does a better job of that than Mission:Dignity.”

Mission:Dignity Sunday will be observed in churches throughout the Southern Baptist Convention on June 22. For more information, resources, and to listen to the “Mission:Dignity” podcast, visit mdsunday.org.